President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday pointed to the prospect of “positive developments” and “specific announcements” on the Cyprus issue this weekend as the relevant actors continued efforts to make progress before UN Secretary-General António Guterres leaves office.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrives on the island on Friday for talks with the Turkish Cypriot leadership amid renewed reports that Ankara has not changed its tune on the basis of a solution.
Meanwhile, UN Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín continued her contacts with stakeholders amid efforts to end nine years of inertia on the Cyprus issue.
Apart from exchanging phone calls and messages with the President, Holguín also met with the co-chairs of all 13 bicommunal Technical Committees on Thursday.
Her current focus is to ensure a successful outcome of Monday’s trilateral meeting, scheduled for 11am at the old Nicosia airport. One that could result in concrete progress on confidence-building measures (CBMs), and issues of methodology and substance, potentially unlocking a 5+1 with the guarantor powers, aimed at resuming formal negotiations. Unless, of course, Guterres is not convinced by Monday’s outcome and requires further evidence that the sides mean business.
Weekend announcements
Speaking to reporters during a school visit to Paphos on Thursday, President Christodoulides suggested the sides were on the cusp of progress that could come even before Monday’s trilateral.
"We are in a process that, based on the information available so far, appears to point toward positive developments.”
He added: “We are in a waiting phase – a phase of receiving final answers – and, as the Personal Envoy has told me, we may well have specific announcements over the weekend.”
The president said he spoke with Holguín on the phone Thursday morning and exchanged messages with her on Wednesday, evidently after her second meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman the same day. He noted that Guterres was being kept in the loop on developments. Asked if potential progress concerned new crossing points, Christodoulides replied the discussion was broader in scope than that, including CBMs, methodology and substance.
Following Monday’s trilateral, Christodoulides travels to Antalya the next day to participate in the Leaders’ Summit on climate change, as does Erhürman. To date, no meetings on the Cyprus issue have been planned for Antalya.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening, opposition leader AKEL’s Stefanos Stefanou highlighted the need for a solution that could have a positive impact on a multitude of areas, from security to electricity interconnection, water and shipping.
Referring to the great weight of responsibility in the president’s hands, he argued the “response to this responsibility cannot be limited to statements of little value, or to cultivating expectations that ultimately fall flat.”
On crossings
Politis understands current efforts are focused on securing agreement on new crossing points, while other issues, such as demining, are also under consideration. Given that the sides are within touching distance of agreement on the Athienou-Pyroi-Aglandjia and Mia Milia crossings, the focus now is on how to include Louroudjina-Lymbia and a fourth crossing. With the Turkish military enclave of Kokkina not looking a likely candidate, Christodoulides has counter-proposed a route connecting Kambos Tsakkistras with Karavostasi.
Speaking on Politis Radio 107.6 & 97.6 , Kambos community leader Ioannis Papadopoulos welcomed the prospect of a crossing point, arguing it was not for appearances’ sake but a necessary step to end the area’s isolation.
Papadopoulos noted that Kambos’ remaining 160-odd residents exchanged visits with Turkish Cypriot residents of Lefka this year, expressing wishes for a reunified island.
Meanwhile, speaking on Genç TV, mayor of the Turkish Cypriots of Nicosia Mehmet Harmancı said the intensification of diplomatic contacts would likely lead to the opening of new crossing points, though he noted it was not clear yet if the number would be two or four.
He added that he planned to submit joint proposals for the capital with his counterpart, Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos, in their meeting with the UN envoy on Monday.
Methodology and substance
Assuming the leaders lock in crossing points and other trust-building initiatives, that would not resolve other pending issues between the sides, such as what to do with past convergences. The Greek Cypriot side wants past convergences and the negotiating acquis up to the last day at Crans-Montana recorded and shared with the sides. The Turkish Cypriot side does not. The UN has recorded only past convergences up to early 2017 and will not share them until talks resume.
This begs the question, from which point will the talks start and on what basis?
Speaking on Politis Radio 107.6 & 97.6 on Thursday, Deputy Government Spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou was optimistic that small but important steps forward would be taken on both CBMs and methodology for the resumption of talks. However, these need to be fleshed out and finalised before progress could be confirmed, he added.
Antoniou said some of the president's proposals were being accepted, creating room for progress, though certain issues require the green light from Turkey as they do not fall within the competences of the Turkish Cypriot leader.
Uncertainty over Ankara’s input
While Hakan Fidan’s arrival at the current juncture is a significant move on Turkey’s part, the signals from Ankara are somewhat mixed.
The Turkish foreign ministry sent a message to the UN envoy via its top diplomat in the north Ali Murat Başçeri on Tuesday, which Holguín conveyed to Christodoulides in person the same day. The president indicated its impact was positive. At the same time, Turkish Cypriot media have been citing sources saying Fidan will reiterate Ankara’s position regarding a two-state solution, and the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots.
If accurate, he will make those comments on the back of the European Commission’s 2026 Report on Turkey, issued on Wednesday, which highlighted the importance the EU attaches “to the resumption of and progress in the Cyprus settlement talks as a means of further strengthening EU-Türkiye cooperation”.
Fidan will meet with Erhürman, Ünal Üstel and Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu.
Erhürman has a dig at Christodoulides government
As contacts and efforts intensify, from a podium at the 17th Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul, Erhürman slammed the Cyprus Republic’s policy of signing defence agreements with “big brothers”.
Erhürman noted the recent participation of foreign military forces in Cyprus’ Independence Day military parade, referring specifically to Israel, the United States and France.
He argued Cyprus will not succeed in creating a military counterweight to Turkey in this way, but risks increasing tensions on the island.
