Today, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Ersin Tatar, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, met under the auspices of the Special Representative and Deputy Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Mr. Colin Stewart, to take stock of the state of discussions so far exploring the possibility of opening new crossing points.  They had an open and constructive discussion.

Today’s meeting was in follow-up to the 15 October informal dinner hosted by the Secretary-General with the two leaders in New York.

The leaders both believe that the opening of new crossing points is critical to promote people-to-people contacts, strengthen economic ties, and build trust. These efforts aim to generate tangible socio-economic benefits across the island, creating opportunities and improving livelihoods for the benefit of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Taking advantage of today’s meeting and the opportunity to exchange views, they discussed other ideas.

Convinced that opening of new crossing points would also contribute to the creation of a conducive climate ahead of the informal meeting in a broader format, they instructed their Negotiator and Special Representative to continue discussions and decided to meet again in the coming days. 

End.