We observe another effort to foster a more constructive climate on the Cyprus problem. The key actors in this process clearly do not have unlimited time. The path to a final separation could be completed very quickly, and such an outcome would not serve the interests of either community. No detailed analysis is needed to support this point: no division will restore Cypriot territory taken by force, nor will it ensure the survival of the Turkish Cypriot community, which can only be sustained through a fair agreement shaped by decades of division.
We hope that this concern guided the two leaders who met for the first time on Thursday. Without enthusiasm but with a realistic approach, the initial meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides and the new Turkish Cypriot leader, Tuğrul Erhürman, under UN auspices, created a cautiously optimistic atmosphere and reopened discussion on the prospect of restarting the Cyprus dialogue.
The meeting, without exaggeration, was characterised by a positive tone, an absence of tension, and avoidance of insinuations from either side. The willingness to steer clear of public confrontations is a sign of a cultural shift after eight years of stagnation.
Both communities remain wary of past negotiations. There is little preparation of public opinion for the reality that prolonging the crisis - maintaining a peculiar and largely incomplete state plagued by permanent insecurity - cannot offer a lasting solution to this part of the Eastern Mediterranean. This sentiment is evident across both communities.
What is needed now, and what the leaders must convey to their public, is a sense of how crucial a solution is. Permanent division would leave the Republic of Cyprus, which currently governs only the south, effectively bordering Turkey. At the same time, it risks losing perhaps the only ally capable of helping remove the Turkish military presence: the Turkish Cypriot community, which continues to fight on every level to preserve its political and cultural identity on the island.
The words of north Nicosia's mayor Mehmet Harmancı reflect this perspective: “Turkey’s interests are important, but the need for a solution for the Turkish Cypriots is very, very important.” This necessity for the Turkish Cypriot community is equally significant for the Republic of Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot community.