Despite the persistence of some in undermining the new Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, which began from the very moment of his victory, it is clear that we are entering a new political reality in the Cyprus issue. The T/C leader is a moderate, realistic, and consistently solution-oriented politician. His victory is already creating the first stirrings in the process, which no one is in a position either to challenge or nullify.
The reaction of the UN Secretary-General, through his congratulatory letter to the new Turkish Cypriot leader and his acknowledgment of encouragement from the political change, along with the scheduled return to Cyprus of his envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, clearly shows that the United Nations wishes to explore the ground for a new informal summit. These developments could serve as a precursor to the resumption of substantive talks.
Until now, the President, Nikos Christodoulides, had the comfort of citing Ersin Tatar’s intransigence as an obstacle to restarting dialogue. However, with Erhürman now leading the Turkish Cypriots, that excuse no longer exists. On the contrary, a significant opportunity arises, which the President must seize with political courage and creative diplomacy.
We do not want to believe that such a development causes concern for the Cyprus President. Nikos Christodoulides presents himself, and clearly declares, that he is open and ready for the forthcoming efforts of the parties involved, and approaches the process in a productive manner. No sensible person, far from extremes and fanaticism within the Greek Cypriot community, has the right to question the intentions of the President of the Republic. However, it is particularly important that he, as President, and the government avoid entering into an open pre-election involvement over the next six months ahead of the parliamentary elections in May. Doing so would strengthen the credibility of the Greek Cypriot side and allow the President to focus on the real stakes: the resumption of talks.
The upcoming effort on the Cyprus issue will mark the end of the process, regardless of the outcome. Nikos Christodoulides fully understands this. We dare say that, under this condition, there is complete mutual understanding with the Turkish Cypriot leader as well, despite attempts to undermine it by the familiar circles that feel comfortable with the current status quo. A status quo, however, that in any case will never remain unchanged.