Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides have agreed to open two new crossing points across the line that divides Cyprus, at Akıncılar–Limya and Kambo–Gemikonağı, Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası and ANKA reported.
The decision came at a meeting of about three hours on Monday, 9 November, hosted by María Ángela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy on Cyprus, at the residence of the UN chief of mission in the buffer zone, Yenidüzen and Kıbrıs Postası reported. In the Greek names used in the south, the two crossings are Louroujina–Lympia and Kampos–Karavostasi, according to Yenidüzen.
Two crossings to open together
A joint UN statement said the leaders had held a positive meeting and that the two crossings would open simultaneously, Yenidüzen and Kıbrıs Postası reported. No opening date has been given. Christodoulides said the new crossings would open once the necessary preparations were complete, Kıbrıs Postası and ANKA reported.
Other crossing points were discussed without agreement. Erhürman said further crossings, and access to Pile (Pyla), would be taken up at a three-way meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres expected in the coming weeks, ANKA and Yenidüzen reported. He described the outcome as modest but a step forward after the deadlock that followed the 2017 Crans-Montana talks, according to both outlets.
Erhürman also said he had put forward a new proposal during the meeting, which he called game-changing, but declined to give details, ANKA and Yenidüzen reported.
Other measures agreed
The leaders agreed that technical committees would set up a rapid-response mechanism for emergencies and disasters, restart the Imagine education programme for children, share archive material on cultural heritage, carry out environmental projects, and continue restoring some Maronite churches and an Armenian monastery, Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası and ANKA reported.
A UN proposal for a military mechanism on buffer-zone issues and demining was not accepted, Erhürman told reporters, according to ANKA and Yenidüzen.
Queues in Nicosia
Mehmet Harmancı, mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality, welcomed the two new crossings but said they would not reduce the queues in Nicosia, where most vehicle traffic passes through the Metehan crossing, Yenidüzen and Kıbrıs Postası reported. He said he was disappointed that no progress was made on a new vehicle crossing at Haspolat (Mia Milia), and that the long queues continue to affect people’s daily lives, according to both outlets.
Sources
- Üçlü görüşmeden iki yeni geçiş noktası kararı çıktı (Yenidüzen)
- Erhürman: Gündemdeki diğer kapılar da birkaç haftaya gerçekleşecek 2+1’de gündemde olacak (Yenidüzen)
- Two New Crossing Points Agreed After Critical Meeting (Kıbrıs Postası / Cyprus Mirror)
- Kıbrıs’ta yeni geçiş noktaları için anlaşma sağlandı (Cumhuriyet / ANKA)
- Harmancı: Yeni geçiş noktaları Lefkoşa’daki yoğunluğu azaltmayacak (Yenidüzen)
- Harmancı Calls Lack of New Vehicle Crossing in Nicosia a Disappointment (Kıbrıs Postası / Cyprus Mirror)
Photo: Basak Senova / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
