Multiple scenarios were expected to remain open during the informal tripartite dinner between UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the two Cypriot leaders in New York in the early hours of Wednesday Cyprus time.
President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar were bringing with them their well-known polar-opposite positions on how Cyprus talks should move forward.
But, according to reports from New York, the tripartite would be solely UN-led; the two leaders brought to UN headquarters to listen.
Guterres, by all accounts, wished for a substantive meeting and not just another round of listening to both sides state their positions and demands. He had tried to get them together in August but Tatar backed out.
The UN has been tight-lipped on what Guterres might present to Christodoulides and Tatar and whether any proposal can lead to a new round of negotiations.
The best-case scenario being mooted by observers would be agreement to work on the creation of a new road-map with its own deadline that would ultimately get both sides back to the negotiating table.
Even this it is said, would be unrealistic at this stage. The absolute best that can be hoped for it appears is that the two leaders agree that despite their polar positions, the tripartite would not be the end of the road and they would be open to more meetings.
This could also mean that Guterres would also mandate his personal envoy to continue the search for common ground for a pre-agreed period of time.
Failing every avenue, it is understood the leaders may be cautioned that the UN has reached the end of its rope where Cyprus talks are concerned.
Despite the likelihood that both sides are well aware of where the UN stands, neither has moved from their long-standing positions even leading up to the tripartite.
Christodoulides said on Monday he was “going to New York to do what I can for a positive outcome and a positive outcome cannot be anything else than the resumption of substantive talks for a solution of the Cyprus problem” from where they left off in Crans-Montana in 2017.
In a written statement on Tuesday, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Christodoulides was going to the meeting with “sincere political will”.
“The aim of this meeting is to explore the prospect of resuming negotiations within the framework defined by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.
The president fully intended to engage in “constructive, fruitful discussion, in line with international law and the framework of the United Nations which will be the springboard for the resumption of negotiations”, he added.
Tatar, meanwhile, prior to departure for the US, insisted that no formal negotiations could resume until the Turkish Cypriot side had secured equal sovereignty, direct flights, direct trade and an end to the “antiquated embargo” on the ‘TRNC’.
Reports suggested discussions at the New York dinner were likely to centre on a UN special document, or ‘concept paper’ which was drawn up ahead of the proposed August meeting, the content of which has never been revealed.
According to Politis, the Guterres concept paper has as a starting point three of six controversial issues related to the withdrawal of Turkish troops, the guarantor powers and “political equality” but gives no quarter to the Turkish side’s demand for a two-state solution.
Guterres would then gauge the positions of the parties based on what he presents them with as a way forward and assess their willingness for negotiation and compromise.
The concept paper is said to have been drawn up by Guterres following his receipt of a report by his personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin in July based on her months of contacts in Cyprus earlier this year, which also has never been published.
The report to the UNSG was accompanied by an open letter in which she said: “We must think differently” to find a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Holguin said her time as envoy had “focused on a constant search for paths that lead to generating trust between the parties”, and that it is now “important to move away from solutions that in the past have created expectations that were not met and led to greater disagreements and frustrations.
“I… ask all Cypriots to encourage and pressure their leaders to work for a better and secure future. The leaders must show will and decisiveness for real progress,” the letter said.
