Erhurman ‘yet to receive’ confidence-building proposal from Christodoulides

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Wednesday said he is yet to receive any proposal regarding unilateral confidence-building measures from President Nikos Christodoulides.

The comment came after reports had surfaced on Tuesday night suggesting that Christodoulides had drawn up the measures and requested Erhurman’s blessing to announce and implement them, but Erhurman told news website Haber Kibris that nothing has yet been forthcoming from Christodoulides’ side.

“Perhaps there will be, but for now, I have not received any offers. If there are, I will not hide it from the public. I will share it,” he said.

The Cyprus News Agency had reported that there would be “two unilateral measures” announced for “the benefit of Turkish Cypriots”, one of which concerns the health sector, and the other concerns the economy.

It added that Christodoulides had requested Erhurman’s blessing as “he does not wish to create tension”, and that he “wishes to create a personal relationship” with his interlocutor.

Meanwhile, it also reported that United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin is to return to the island this month, having first travelled “for contacts” to Geneva, Brussels and Washington DC.

While in Cyprus, she will meet both Christodoulides and Erhurman, with Christodoulides having requested another tripartite meeting, similar to that which took place in December.

Erhurman said on Monday that he hopes Holguin’s next visit to the island will “yield concrete results aimed at creating the atmosphere for a solution”, and stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side is “ready for the meeting”.

“In line with our results-oriented approach, our request is that the technical-level work be accelerated before that meeting and that Holguin’s visit yield concrete results aimed at creating the atmosphere for a solution,” he said.

It is expected that a fresh enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN, will take place in the weeks that follow Holguin’s visit.