The Cyprus problem is being pursued on three fronts: the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy in Washington for talks at the State Department, António Guterres preparing to meet the new Turkish Cypriot leader in New York, and the Greek and Turkish leaders sitting down in Ankara.

María Ángela Holguín met Brendan Hanrahan, the US official responsible for Europe and Eurasia, at the State Department on Tuesday morning.

The meeting was closed to the media and no statements were made. Holguín had travelled to Washington after meetings in Cyprus and is believed to have briefed Hanrahan on where the consultations currently stand.

In New York, Guterres is due to meet Tufan Erhürman, the new Turkish Cypriot leader, at 12.15 pm local time.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday the meeting would be “an opportunity for a first acquaintance with the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community and to discuss the Cyprus problem.”

He did not rule out the possibility that Guterres would subsequently contact President Christodoulides.

Dujarric also recalled Guterres’s standing position that “leaders must show political will in order to maintain momentum, build trust and move the process towards a possible resumption of negotiations.”

In Ankara, the Cyprus problem will be on the agenda when Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Mitsotakis is due at the Presidential Palace at 3.15 pm, with the reception kept away from the media spotlight according to Greek media reports. Joint statements are expected around 5 pm.

Before travelling to Ankara, Mitsotakis spoke by phone with President Christodoulides. The two countries’ foreign ministers — Constantinos Kombos and Giorgos Gerapetritis — also spoke separately.