President Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides met on Friday at the anthropological laboratory of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), the first meeting of the two leaders since February earlier this year, when Tatar had met with Christodoulides at the residence of the UN special representative, Colin Stewart, at the old Lefkoşa airport.

The two leaders, the three members of the CMP, the President’s Special Representative Ergün Olgun and the Spokesman for the Greek Cypriot Administration Costantinos Letimbiodes first held a short meeting before touring the lab.

In a written statement issued by the UN following the meeting, the two leaders expressed their full support to the effective work of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP), their acknowledgement and appreciation for the work carried out by the members of the committee, the personnel of the anthropological laboratory and all the staff involved in the Committee’s esteemed work.

They reaffirmed their conviction that the CMP conducts a purely humanitarian work, emphasized the importance of insulating the CMP from political considerations, and called upon all concerned not to politicize this crucial work.

“Both leaders called upon persons who have information about the possible burial sites to share the information with the CMP, reminded witnesses that they can request confidentiality for any information shared, as credible information can accelerate the whole process of location, exhumation and identification of remains of missing persons,” the statement read.

The two leaders also highlighted the need to unceasingly continue with efforts for the location and identification of all missing persons.

“The two leaders reaffirmed their mutual understanding that the CMP’s responsibility lies first and foremost with the families of missing persons as it brings closure to the affected families through the return of the remains of their loved ones for proper burial in accordance with their religious traditions and practices,” the UN statement read.