Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and Republic of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides are scheduled to meet tomorrow, Tuesday 20th October, despite another public disagreement about how negotiations to resolve the Cyprus problem should proceed.
The meeting was confirmed on Monday by Republic of Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis and forms part of the continuing discussions between the two leaders.
However, the latest exchange suggests that agreeing to meet is one thing. Agreeing on what should be discussed, and in what order, is quite another.
The disagreement over political equality
The immediate argument concerns the principle of a rotating presidency in any future federal arrangement.
Erhürman maintains that political equality between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots must be established as a fundamental principle before comprehensive negotiations resume.
His undersecretary, Mehmet Dana, has described a rotating presidency as an essential part of that equality.
The Turkish Cypriot position is that once the principle has been accepted, the details, including the length of each community's presidential term, can be negotiated.
Christodoulides takes a different view.
Speaking on Sunday, he accused the Turkish Cypriot side of imposing preconditions and argued that outstanding differences should be resolved through negotiations, rather than demanding agreement on individual matters beforehand.
Nineteen proposals and seven confidence-building measures
There is also disagreement about the agenda.
Christodoulides has presented 19 proposals intended to help restart negotiations. Their full contents have not been publicly disclosed.
Erhürman has argued that priority should instead be given to the confidence-building measures already under discussion.
These include crossing points, mine clearance, cooperation on natural disasters and measures affecting contact between the communities.
United Nations envoy María Ángela Holguín has also emphasised the importance of implementing practical agreements to build confidence.
A meeting after a message of peace
Interestingly, the two leaders attended a bicommunal festival in Pyla over the weekend, where Christodoulides spoke about peace, coexistence and reunification.
It was a welcome public demonstration of cooperation, even though substantial political disagreements remain.
Will tomorrow produce any progress?
There is no indication yet that tomorrow's meeting will produce a breakthrough.
But for ordinary people living on the island, practical improvements to crossing arrangements and cooperation between the communities would be meaningful developments in themselves.
After decades of negotiations, interrupted negotiations and negotiations about restarting negotiations, people might reasonably hope that the next meeting produces something a little more substantial than an agreement to meet again.
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