Nikos Christodoulidis held his first meeting since being elected President of the Republic of Cyprus and before formally taking office today with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.

The meeting of the two men took place at the home of the Special Representative of the Prime Minister. UN in Cyprus Colin Stewart, located in the area of ​​the old airport of Nicosia, which is under the protection of the UN.

In a statement released after the end of the meeting, the United Nations states:

“Today, Ersin Tatar and Nikos Christodoulidis met for the first time under the auspices of Colin Stewart, Deputy Special Adviser to the Secretary General for Cyprus. They had an informal discussion that was open and constructive. Mr. Christodoulidis and Mr. Tatar addressed various issues, including the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that claimed thousands of lives, including Turkish Cypriots, and expressed sympathy for the victims and their families.”

According to Nikos Christodoulidis and Ersin Tatar, the meeting went very well, and Colin Stewart made a similar statement.

In his statements before flying to the old Nicosia Airport, Mr. Christodoulidis noted:

“I’m not here to play some blame game. I’m interested in the essence, I’m interested in the results, I’m interested in achieving our goal, and this is nothing but a way out of the impasse.

He added that it was “not an easy goal. I know the facts very well, but this does not mean that we will stop these efforts. No one wants more than us to resume dialogue and reach a solution to the Cyprus issue within the agreed framework.”

Mr. Christodoulidis was accompanied by Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelau and Marilena Rauna, who will take over the duties of director of his diplomatic office. The Turkish Cypriot leader was accompanied by his negotiator Ergun Olgun.

Source: RES-IPE