Progress on the Cyprus problem at the level of the two leaders is necessary, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Thursday, though he stressed that reaching substantive progress still depends decisively on the stance, will and contribution of Turkey in particular. He also announced that the next meeting between the two leaders will take place on 2 September.
Speaking to journalists during his regular briefing at the Presidential Palace, Letymbiotis said Wednesday's meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman had a positive tone and, above all, gave the continuation of the effort a steadier pace. He described it as a lengthy meeting that covered substance, methodology, confidence-building measures and preparation for the next steps towards convening an expanded conference, in line with what the UN Secretary-General has also set out.
Weekly meetings under way
Of particular importance, Letymbiotis said, was the two leaders' decision to meet at least once a week, and more often if circumstances require. He said this decision was already being put into practice. On Thursday morning, he said, the Greek Cypriot negotiator conveyed three proposed dates for the next meeting on the president's behalf, and the Turkish Cypriot side responded immediately, with the next meeting set for 2 September at 3pm.
This, Letymbiotis said, means the dialogue is gaining continuity and a steady pace, with issues to be revisited quickly, systematic work carried out and the momentum already created maintained. He said this momentum did not arise on its own, crediting the mobilisation of the UN, the Secretary-General himself and his personal envoy, as well as Cyprus' own sustained and intensive effort through seeking greater EU and UN involvement, continuous international and European contacts, and a consistent position in favour of resuming substantive negotiations from the point at which they were suspended.
Letymbiotis said Cyprus' will is clear and that the government will continue intensively, constructively and with a focus on substance, making use of every opportunity that could bring the sides closer to resuming negotiations. He said the prospect of a new expanded meeting now lies ahead, with preparation for it already under way. The goal, as set by the Secretary-General himself, is for that meeting to succeed and to constitute the decisive step towards announcing the resumption of substantive negotiations from where they were suspended.
The government's approach, he said, is optimistic but realistic, adding that difficulties are not being underestimated and results are not being taken for granted. He said that after a long period of stagnation, there is once again more frequent contact, more substantive discussion and concrete next steps, and that the challenge now is for this momentum to gain continuity, content and results. At the same time, Letymbiotis said, the broader dimension of the Cyprus problem is not being lost from view, and progress at the level of the two leaders remains necessary but insufficient without the corresponding stance from the guarantor powers, particularly Turkey.
Civil Society Advisory Body announced
Letymbiotis said Wednesday's meeting also produced agreement on announcing the members of the Coordinating Committee of the Advisory Body of Civil Society. The Greek Cypriot members of the Coordinating Committee are Pantelis Poiitis, Alexandros Lordos, Amalia Avraam, Sofia Papamichalopoulos and Marios Michaelides.
Letymbiotis thanked everyone who agreed to take part, saying the Advisory Body could serve as an additional channel of communication and constructive input from civil society into the ongoing effort. He said the body's establishment was itself one of the Secretary-General's wishes, and had also featured among the government's own proposals. The Coordinating Committee will be a standing body with equal representation from the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides, he said, and the wider Advisory Body will comprise a further 50 people from each community, discussing issues relevant to everyday life. He said the composition of these 50-strong groups may vary depending on the subject under discussion, ensuring representative stratification by age, region and gender.
Barcelona academy visit cancelled, but concerts in the north proceed
Asked about a reporter's observation that a planned visit by Barcelona's football academy to the north had been cancelled, while other events, including concerts, remained scheduled to go ahead there, Letymbiotis said the government had been informed of the organisation's decision to postpone that particular event. He said the Republic of Cyprus' position has been, and remains, institutional and clear, and that the state does what it is obliged to do as an internationally recognised country: informing relevant bodies, presenting the facts and explaining international law and the applicable legal and institutional framework, always through diplomacy, seriously and with full documentation. The final decision, he said, does not belong to Cyprus but to the organisations themselves, which weigh those facts.
He specifically noted that on football matters, there is an agreed framework under FIFA and UEFA that provides institutional tools which can be used. More broadly, he said, every time such issues arise they highlight the wider need to resolve the Cyprus problem, which is why the government continues to press for the resumption of substantive negotiations so that the Republic of Cyprus can function as a normal state across its entire territory.
Reports of Turkish pressure on direct trade dismissed as reflecting existing EU positions
Asked to comment on reports of pressure from Ankara on the EU over direct trade through the north, Letymbiotis said the EU's positions, whether on relations with Turkey or with the north, have been expressed institutionally and officially throughout, and remain the unanimous decisions of the 27 member states as reflected in European Council conclusions. He said these EU positions do not differ from the Republic of Cyprus' own position, given Cyprus is a full EU member state. He said progress in EU-Turkey relations and institutional dialogue between the two cannot sideline or overlook the Republic of Cyprus, and that this had recently been stated with particular clarity. On requests concerning the north specifically, he said these are governed by the Green Line regulation, and that any request for changes to it must be submitted by the Republic of Cyprus and always within that framework.
Political equality and the convergences
Asked to comment on Erhürman's remarks that progress on methodology, the convergences or substantive matters is not possible without clarity on political equality, Letymbiotis said the government addresses this directly at the negotiating table, in the clearest possible terms. He recalled the first joint statement issued by the UN following a meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman, which referenced political equality as defined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. He said the convergences reached in previous negotiations cannot be overlooked, and that preserving the negotiating acquis is something the government not only respects but believes must be safeguarded. He said all aspects of the Cyprus problem have been raised by President Christodoulides, and that the government is seeking the same opportunity to raise them at an expanded meeting attended by the guarantor powers.
Asked whether deliverables could be ready to present to the UN Secretary-General in New York during the UN General Assembly's high-level week, Letymbiotis said the government is awaiting completion of the UN's recording of the convergences, a process he said is ongoing and expected, according to current information, to be completed within September, after which it would be circulated for all sides to respond to. He said these convergences are rooted in the bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality as defined in the relevant Security Council resolutions.
He added that the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy is expected in Cyprus in early September, with an exact date to be announced by the UN. He said progress on confidence-building measures could potentially be announced even before the trip to New York, and that the government is very close to agreement on the Secretary-General's compromise proposal and other issues raised by the president with the Turkish Cypriot leader, provided there is sincere will on the other side to reach agreement. He repeated that the government has accepted, and continues to accept, the Secretary-General's proposal, provided there is a corresponding response from the other side.
Mine clearance and crossing points
Asked whether mine clearance was discussed at Wednesday's meeting, Letymbiotis said the UN has identified areas in both the government-controlled areas and the north that it considers suitable for survey work to determine whether clearance should proceed. He said Cyprus had responded promptly, proposing and providing a specific area from the UN's maps, and is awaiting a corresponding response from the other side in order to proceed as soon as possible.
On progress regarding the opening of crossing points, Letymbiotis said that for confidence-building measures to serve their purpose of building trust, they must be governed by the principle of reciprocity. He recalled that an extensive discussion took place at the first expanded meeting in Geneva in March 2025, after which the Secretary-General proposed the simultaneous opening of four crossing points, a proposal Cyprus accepted then and continues to accept. When that did not prove possible at a subsequent meeting due to a change in the other side's position, he said Cyprus had proposed instead the opening of a pedestrian crossing point on Ledra Street. Following the most recent meeting with the UN Secretary-General, he said, Cyprus again accepted the UN's compromise proposal, namely the simultaneous opening of the Mia Milia crossing point and the Athienou crossing point, along the routing proposed by the UN. He said Cyprus hopes that through regular meetings and contacts, the other side will show the same stance, allowing the simultaneous opening of two, four or even five crossing points to be announced, which he said would be an encouraging signal both ahead of New York and the expanded conference, and for citizens themselves.
Spokesman rejects 'pressure' framing over events in the north
Responding to a reporter's suggestion that the Republic of Cyprus was exerting "pressure" to have events in the north cancelled, and whether this risked undermining trust built over the past three years and pushing the Turkish Cypriot community towards Turkey, Letymbiotis said he found the choice of the word "pressure" interesting, repeating that Cyprus does only what any internationally recognised state is obliged to do, operating through diplomacy and presenting the facts clearly. On the football-specific point, he noted the FIFA-UEFA framework in place since 2013 provides an institutional avenue for such matters, and said it is worth examining why that framework is not being used, or whether such events are instead being used, covertly or otherwise, for other purposes.
