A meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman got under way at 11.15am on Tuesday at the offices of the United Nations Good Offices Mission.
Erhürman arrived at the venue first, with Christodoulides following a few minutes later. The two leaders were welcomed by Khassim Diagne, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus.
In a symbolic gesture, the United Nations presented both leaders with bottles of olive oil produced from olive trees planted at the site in 2009 by former President Dimitris Christofias and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
Following their one-to-one meeting, the two leaders are due to meet jointly with members of the Technical Committees on Youth and Cultural Heritage, as well as representatives of the Civil Society Consultative Body.
The meeting comes ahead of the arrival in Cyprus on Thursday of UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín, who is scheduled to hold contacts on Friday.
Earlier, President Christodoulides said he would present a new proposal on crossing points, while also raising his proposals on Varosha, direct trade and a possible methodology for restarting Cyprus settlement talks.
Source: CNA
