An informal expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue begins today in New York, chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The goal is to pave the way for the resumption of meaningful negotiations on the longstanding conflict.

High-Level Participation

Attending the meeting are:

• President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides

• Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar

• Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey, Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan

• UK Minister for Europe, Stephen Doughty

The meeting officially begins at 7:00 p.m. New York time (2:00 a.m. Cyprus time) with a dinner hosted by Secretary-General Guterres in a designated room at the UN headquarters.

Bilateral Consultations and Plenary Sessions

On Thursday, Guterres is scheduled to hold bilateral consultations with each delegation at the UN headquarters. The bilateral meeting between President Christodoulides and Guterres is set for 10:25 a.m. New York time (5:25 p.m. Cyprus time).

The plenary session of the informal expanded meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. Cyprus time). Later, at 1:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. Cyprus time), the heads of delegations, each accompanied by one delegation member, will participate in a working lunch.

The final discussion of the plenary is scheduled to conclude by 4:45 p.m. (11:45 p.m. Cyprus time).

Aiming for Substantive Progress

Earlier this week, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis stated that the Greek Cypriot side hopes this multilateral conference in New York can serve as a launchpad for restarting substantive negotiations from where they were last interrupted.

This meeting follows a similar informal gathering held in Geneva last March, where the two leaders agreed on several confidence-building measures:

• Opening of four new crossing points

• Establishing a technical committee on youth

• Demining initiatives

• Environmental and climate change cooperation, including:

  • Assessing environmental impacts in extraction zones

  • Generating solar energy in the buffer zone

  • Restoring cemeteries on both sides

Guterres also announced at the Geneva meeting that a follow-up session would take place in late July, and that he would appoint a personal envoy to help coordinate next steps.