Cypriot leaders accept to meet for UN-led talks
NICOSIA
The leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus have expressed their readiness to take part in a U.N.-led gathering next month that could pave the way to a resumption of formal talks after an eight-year hiatus to resolve the dispute.
But it remains moot whether the meeting will successfully bridge a widening chasm that separates Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar and the island’s Greek Cypriot administration leader, Nikos Christodoulides, on what a future peace deal should look like.
Both Tatar and Christodoulides held separate talks with U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo to prepare the ground for the mid-March meeting that will also bring together officials from Cyprus’ guarantors: Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
DiCarlo said that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remains committed to helping both sides move forward with formal negotiations, while Christodoulides repeated that continued ethnic division can't be Cyprus’ future.
“As we see in our neighborhood, there are no frozen conflicts,” Christodoulides said.
On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot president reiterated his country and Türkiye’s commitment on the two-state solution for the island.
“For a fair, permanent and sustainable agreement, the sensitivities of the Turkish Cypriot people and what has been happening on the island for 60 years should be taken into consideration. Until today, the Greek Cypriots have rejected every agreement, but it is the Turkish Cypriot people who remain under embargo,” Tatar said.
“Embargoes are unacceptable and the U.N. must now take steps on this issue. An opening of direct flights, direct contact and direct trade to Turkish Cyprus is a must,” he said.
Tatar said that the meeting next month would take place on March 17-18, but Greek Cypriot administration spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis contradicted Tatar and claimed that the U.N. would confirm the exact dates in "due course."
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Five decades of Cyprus talks have led nowhere.
