Cyprus: Christodoulides and Erhürman at the same table at the Pyla Peace Festival – new meeting next week

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman attended together on the evening of Saturday, October 17, the 6th Bicommunal Peace Festival of Pyla, the mixed village of Larnaca district that lies inside the buffer zone. It was the first social event they attended together as leaders of the two communities. Their participation had been agreed at their meeting of October 13 under the auspices of the United Nations.

According to an announcement from the Turkish Cypriot leader’s office, the festival was organised by the two community leaders of Pyla together with the UN Peacekeeping Force office in the village. Erhürman “ate at the same table” as Christodoulides, who is described as the “Greek Cypriot leader”, and they watched the speeches and events, while the announcement notes that the celebration, which brings together Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot residents of Pyla, drew a large turnout. The Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus published photographs of the President at the Pyla grounds where the event took place.

What had been agreed on October 13

The joint appearance is part of the moves agreed in the contacts under the UN. In the statement of the Good Offices Mission after the October 13 meeting in the UN-protected area, the two men met “in a positive atmosphere”, awaited the visit of the Secretary-General’s personal envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, and agreed to take part in the Pyla festival. They also agreed to attend together the next meetings of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the Technical Committee on Youth and the Steering Committee of the Civil Society Advisory Body. Finally, they decided to meet again within the coming week to continue their discussions. The Good Offices Mission has a mandate to help the two sides reach a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Cyprus problem through negotiations under the UN.

Pyla is among the very few villages in Cyprus where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots continue to live together after the 1974 Turkish invasion, under the supervision of the UN Peacekeeping Force. Christodoulides has spoken of a “window of opportunity” on the Cyprus problem since the election of Erhürman, who has however also put forward claims about Cyprus’s “involvement” in the tensions of the region. The next meeting between the two and Holguín’s visit will show whether the positive atmosphere translates into substantive progress in the talks.