President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday told United Nations special representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart he is “ready” to hold another meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar over the matter of new crossing points on the island.

Christodoulides met Stewart on Friday afternoon, and after that meeting, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Christodoulides had “reiterated once again his readiness to hold a second meeting”.

“We are at Stewart’s disposal to hold a new meeting whenever this becomes possible, even in the coming days. We are also in the process of preparing for the convening of the multilateral conference, which will aim to resume negotiations from the point where they were interrupted” at Crans Montana in 2017, he said.

He added that “what is on the table” in any future meeting is the package of eight proposals Christodoulides submitted at the previous meeting.

“I would like to remind you that based on the joint statement made after the previous meeting, both leaders considered and characterised this discussion as positive and constructive, around and within the framework of the eight proposals, and there are certainly proposals in this context which can be discussed,” he said.

He added that the proposals “can be mutually beneficial for both communities”.

“We believe that if there is positive, sincere political will on the other side, there can be a positive outcome,” he said.

Stewart then met Tatar on Friday evening and spoke to journalists outside Tatar’s official residence.

There, he said that after having met both Christodoulides and Tatar, the situation “appears positive”. He added that there appears to be a will among both sides for new crossing points to open, and that work will continue for steps to be taken to this end.

Tatar did not make a statement after the meeting.

Tatar’s special representative Gunes Onar confirmed to the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday that the Turkish Cypriot side will suggest that a meeting between Tatar and Christodoulides take place on February 7.

He added that on the day prior, February 6, Tatar will be engaged with commemorations for the second anniversary of the two deadly earthquakes which struck southeastern Turkey in 2023, and that as such, “February 7 is the date we have in mind”.

United Nations under-secretary-general for peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo is then set to hold separate meetings with Tatar and Christodoulides on February 10, before travelling to both Ankara and Athens to meet members of the Turkish and Greek governments.

DiCarlo’s visit is set to come ahead of a planned “enlarged meeting” on the Cyprus problem which will involve Cyprus’ three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, as well as the UN, and will likely take place in March.