The Greek Cypriot side has accused the Turkish Cypriot side of following a “pattern of obstruction” which is preventing efforts to accelerate moves towards renewed Cyprus talks, negotiator Menelaos Menelaou said on Monday.

His comments followed contacts in New York, where efforts to arrange a trilateral meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ultimately failed.

Meanwhile, Christodoulides intends to convene a meeting of the National Council on Wednesday to brief its members and discuss the latest developments on the Cyprus problem, government sources told the Cyprus News Agency.

Speaking to CNA, Menelaou said the Greek Cypriot side had come away from New York with Guterres’ commitment and determination to exhaust every possibility for progress until the final day of his term.

The aim, he said, remained to bring the process to an expanded meeting, with the objective of securing a decision to resume formal negotiations.

Preparatory work was continuing and “significant steps” had already been taken, Menelaou said, although he maintained there was still room for further progress.

One of the obstacles, he added, was what he described as the Turkish Cypriot side’s “delaying tactics”.

The objective was for the process to move forward “as soon as possible”, he said, adding that “it should already have progressed a long time ago”.

“We believe the conditions are there. The determination of the Secretary-General is also there. The preparatory work which needs to be completed has progressed to a very significant degree,” Menelaou said.

“It is crucial that the next step can be taken, so that a revitalised negotiating process can be put back on track, with the full preservation of the acquis of the negotiations up until the last day of the previous effort, which ended in the summer of 2017 at Crans-Montana.”

Menelaou said Guterres’ approach to the Cyprus problem was “comprehensive and includes all aspects”, referring to the six points put forward by the UN chief during the 2017 talks at Crans-Montana.

Those six points, he said, were integral to reaching a comprehensive settlement, which “must naturally include all aspects, all the chapters which together make up the Cyprus problem”.

Asked about the failure to hold a trilateral meeting in New York, Menelaou said both the Greek Cypriot side and the United Nations had made efforts until the last moment to make it possible.

The Greek Cypriot side had also indicated that it was prepared to extend its stay in New York to accommodate a meeting.

“Unfortunately, this effort too came up against this broader pattern which we are facing from the Turkish side,” Menelaou said.

He described it as “a pattern of obstruction of the effort to give a more accelerated pace to the steps which need to be taken”.