The meeting will follow a briefing by Special Representative of the Secretary-General Lisa Buttenheim on current developments. Last Friday, Cyprus’ Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Minas Chatziminas met with the President of the SC to whom he conveyed the Republic’s consensus on UNFICYP’s presence on the island.

According to the final draft, the SC will call upon the two leaders to intensify the momentum of negotiations, engage in the process in a constructive and open manner, and work on reaching convergences on the remaining core issues in preparation for their meeting with the Secretary-General in July.

The SC will also call upon the two leaders to improve the public atmosphere in which the negotiations are proceeding, including focusing public messages on convergences and the way ahead, and delivering more constructive and harmonised messages; and also to increase the participation of civil society in the process as appropriate. The SC is expected to welcome the progress made so far in the fully fledged negotiations, and the leaders’ joint statements including those of 23 May and 1 July 2008.