New York, 17 July 2025

Ladies and gentlemen of the media,

Thank you for joining us.

Today, I convened a meeting I proposed in March with the clear goal of pursuing the constructive dialogue between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Leaders.

I am grateful for the participation of His Excellency Nicos Christodoulides, and His Excellency Ersin Tatar.

And I thank the Foreign Minister of Greece, His Excellency Giorgios Gerapetritis, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, His Excellency Hakan Fidan, and the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom, His Excellency Stephen Doughty, who represents the guarantor powers of Cyprus. 

From the very start of my mandate, I have been committed to the security and well-being of the Cypriots — the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.

Once again, today’s discussions were constructive.

Both leaders reviewed the progress on the six initiatives they agreed in March to build trust. 

Out of these six initiatives, four have been achieved:

-          the creation of a technical committee on youth;

-          initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas;

-          the restoration of cemeteries;

-          an agreement on demining will be closed once the final technical details are established;

Discussions will continue on the remaining two:

-         the opening of four crossing points; and

-          solar energy in the buffer zone.

In addition, they came to a common understanding on:

-          a consultative body for civil society engagement;

-          exchange of cultural artifacts;

-          an initiative on air quality monitoring; and

-          addressing microplastic pollution.

It is critical to implement these initiatives – all of them – as soon as possible for the benefit of all Cypriots.

We also agreed that I would have a joint meeting with Mr. Tatar and Mr. Christodoulides during the high-level week, and that there would be another informal meeting in the present format later this year.

As with the six initiatives agreed in March, the initiatives agreed today have the potential to have a real and significant positive impact on peoples’ lives across the island.

They are not merely symbolic gestures, but issues that require cooperation.

There’s a long road ahead.

And it is important to think about what the future can mean – for all Cypriots.

But these steps clearly demonstrate a commitment to continuing a dialogue on the way forward and working on initiatives that benefit all Cypriots.

Thank you.