Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar and Nikos Christodoulides, the new President-elect of Greek Cyprus had their first meeting in the buffer zone. They, however, could not come to any conclusions regarding reunification and peace negotiations.
According to a statement by the UN Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), while the “informal” talk did not have any concrete conclusions, it was a constructive one overall.
The “buffer” zone where they met was in fact the residence of Canadian diplomat Colin Stewart, who additionally holds the post of the Deputy Special Advisor at the UN Secretary General, Cyprus. The residence itself lies in the UN-administered buffer zone which divides the island nation’s capital, Nicosia.
Several issues were addressed at the informal meeting, which includes (but is not limited to) the Ukraine war and the Turkey-Syria earthquakes. Both expressed their condolences and acknowledged the death of Turkish Cypriots who lived in Turkey.
