the two leaders met again on 23 May 2008, in the presence of UN Special Representative for Cyprus Taye-Brook Zerihoun. The meeting reaffirmed the commitment to create a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with sole sovereignty, international personality and nationality, and political equality, as described in the resolutions of the Security Council of the UN. It was also agreed to seek the opening of other crossing points. Furthermore, the two leaders agreed to consider confidence-building measures. On the 1st of July 2008, the two leaders revised for the first time the work of the working groups and technical committees. They also discussed the issues of sovereignty and citizenship, on which they agreed, as matters of principle. Details on their implementation would be discussed during the direct talks. In a new meeting on July 25, 2008, it was decided to start direct negotiations on September 3, 2008. The new negotiation process aimed to find a solution "from the Cypriots for the Cypriots" on the basis of an agreement between the two leaders that would receive the approval of the people and which would guarantee all the fundamental and legal rights and interests of Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots. In joint statements, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a bizonal, bicommunal federation, while agreeing on one sole sovereignty, citizenship, and international personality of the Cyprus federation. Negotiations leading to Crans Montana To emphasize his support for the peace negotiations, the Secretary-General of the United Nations paid a tripartite visit to Cyprus in early 2010. On April 18, 2010, Mehmet Ali Talat was succeeded by Dervis Eroglu as the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community. President Christofias and the new Turkish Cypriot leader had many unfruitful meetings until July 1, 2012, when Cyprus took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Throughout the presidency, the Turkish side refused to enter into talks despite assurances from the President that there was no impediment. On February 11, 2014, the first official meeting of the new President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nikos Anastasiades, and the leader of the Turkish-Cypriots Mr. Dervis Eroglu took place under the auspices of the UN, which set the framework for the new negotiation process and reaffirmed the basic principles of the solution. The launch of a new process of substantive negotiations has renewed international interest, creating new positive momentum for resolving the problem. This was followed by three years of negotiations that led to significant progress. As a result, in June 2017, the UN SecreThe Cyprus Question| A brief Introduction 25
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