A trilateral meeting between the two leaders and UN Secretary-General António Guterres was not planned for New York and was proposed by President Nikos Christodoulides, UN Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín said in a statement issued on 26 September. In the same statement, she said Guterres had reiterated the urgency for the leaders to implement the confidence-building measures (CBMs) they have already agreed. "Although a trilateral meeting was not initially planned, the Greek Cypriot leader proposed to have one this week, but, at this moment, the Turkish Cypriot leader did not consider it," Holguín said. According to Holguín, the Secretary-General told the leaders that implementing the CBMs would serve "as a reflection of their ability to cooperate". Such cooperation, she said, "would be a demonstration of their willingness to initiate a process towards a sustainable solution." Holguín met Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman separately during the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly and accompanied Guterres in his bilateral meetings with each of them. In those meetings, she said, the Secretary-General "exchanged visions to overcome the challenges and be able to move forward."
Christodoulides first raised the prospect of a trilateral on 9 September. A week later, Guterres said there was still much work to be done before a three-party or five-party meeting could be convened. After a 15-minute meeting with Guterres in New York on Thursday, Christodoulides suggested the Secretary-General was considering a trilateral and would inform him accordingly. On Friday evening, government sources told Politis to the Point that there would be no trilateral because Erhürman had not agreed to one, despite the Secretary-General's wish for such a meeting. Erhürman has since said that Christodoulides raised the request for a trilateral during his meeting with Guterres, and that it was passed on to him through Holguín. Speaking to the Turkish news agency ANKA and journalist Yusuf Kanlı on Saturday, the Turkish Cypriot leader said he asked Holguín whether the Greek Cypriot side had committed to substantive progress and did not receive a positive answer. "The intention was to create the impression that there was reason and basis for such a meeting and that we rejected it. We did not fall for that game," Erhürman said, adding that "we do not hold meetings for the sake of meetings." He said the Turkish Cypriot side was open to both a trilateral and a 5+1 meeting, provided they were preceded by preparation and concrete progress in Nicosia. Holguín also recalled that during his visit to Cyprus in July, Guterres had pledged to support the parties in their search for a solution until the last day of his mandate, which ends in three months.
The CBMs were also the focus of a joint meeting between the two negotiators, Holguín and Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, held to review the measures the sides agreed to develop. Holguín said these measures "should contribute to building trust and give way to new initiatives." Erhürman said the Turkish Cypriot side was ready to agree on six of the seven areas Guterres outlined before leaving Cyprus in July, with disagreement remaining over the opening of new crossing points.
Convergences document ready for the start of talks
Holguín said the UN "has carried out the exercise of convergences," which will be available to the parties when they start negotiations, and that the UN will invite both sides to present their proposals on methodology. The exercise covers the convergences, near convergences and divergences recorded in joint documents prepared by the two sides between 2015 and early 2017. The document had become a point of friction, as the two sides had taken diverging approaches on its content, the timing of its delivery and the terms attached to it.
Holguín will return to Cyprus in October and will continue her facilitation efforts until the end of December, when both she and Guterres leave their posts. Formal negotiations have not resumed since the collapse of the Conference on Cyprus at Crans-Montana in July 2017. "I will continue to encourage both parties to create the conducive environment required for the start of a new process," Holguín said.
María Ángela Holguín's statement in full:
Message from María Ángela Holguín, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Cyprus
New York, 26 September 2026
In New York, during the high-level segment of the General Assembly, I met the two leaders separately and accompanied the Secretary-General in his bilateral meetings with each leader. With Rosemary DiCarlo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, we met the two negotiators with the intention to review the CBMs that the two sides agreed to develop. These measures should contribute to building trust and give way to new initiatives.
During his visit to Cyprus, the Secretary-General reiterated his commitment to continue to support the parties in their search for a solution until the last day of his mandate, which ends in three months. In New York, the Secretary-General met separately with each leader and exchanged visions to overcome the challenges and be able to move forward. Although a trilateral meeting was not initially planned, the Greek Cypriot leader proposed to have one this week, but, at this moment, the Turkish Cypriot leader did not consider it.
In this context, in relation to the confidence-building measures agreed upon by both sides, the Secretary-General reiterated the urgency for the leaders to proceed with their implementation as a reflection of their ability to cooperate. Such cooperation, if achieved, would be a demonstration of their willingness to initiate a process towards a sustainable solution.
The UN has carried out the exercise of convergences, which will be available to the parties when they start negotiations. In addition, the UN will invite both sides to present their proposals on methodology. I will continue my facilitation efforts until the end of December and, in October, during my next visit to Cyprus, I will continue to encourage both parties to create the conducive environment required for the start of a new process.
