Cyprus President Cautiously Optimistic After UN Peace Talks

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides expressed cautious optimism on Tuesday evening following a working dinner with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, saying he hopes Wednesday’s discussions will produce concrete progress towards reviving peace negotiations.

Speaking after returning to the Presidential Palace, Christodoulides said resolving the Cyprus issue remained the only viable path forward and welcomed Guterres’ strong political commitment to the UN-led peace process.

“There is no other option than resolving the Cyprus issue,” the president said, adding that he hoped to hear “positive developments” following Wednesday’s meetings.

Christodoulides described the dinner as an open, honest and productive discussion that addressed all major aspects of the peace process, including substantive issues, negotiation methodology, areas of convergence, an expanded dialogue framework and confidence-building measures.

“We covered everything,” he said. “The discussion will continue tomorrow morning, and we hope there will be specific announcements. We are working towards that goal.”

The Cypriot president also welcomed the UN secretary-general’s continued personal engagement, noting that Guterres had once again reaffirmed his political commitment to advancing negotiations.

While acknowledging that differences between the two sides remain, Christodoulides said the discussions allowed both parties to present their arguments openly.

“There were issues where different approaches remain, and that is no secret,” he said. “However, we had an honest discussion that examined the substance of the issues, areas of convergence, methodology, an expanded format and confidence-building measures.”

He said Wednesday’s meeting, scheduled for 10am, would focus on achieving tangible outcomes and expressed hope that Guterres would be able to announce concrete next steps.

Christodoulides also highlighted growing international support for renewed diplomatic efforts, pointing to the involvement of both the United Nations and the European Union.

He noted that European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica’s successor, Commissioner Magnus Brunner? Wait no. Actually the article refers to Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, who is expected to visit Cyprus in the coming days. Christodoulides said the EU’s increasing engagement complements the UN initiative and strengthens efforts to restart negotiations.

The president reiterated that his goal remains the resumption of formal peace talks from the point where they ended at Crans-Montana in 2017.

Asked whether he viewed the discussions positively, Christodoulides replied that he was satisfied with the progress made so far but preferred to wait for Wednesday’s outcome before drawing conclusions.

Reflecting on developments since taking office in March 2023, he said the level of international engagement had increased significantly.

“We know what we want, we know where we want to end up, and we know the means we are using are producing results,” he said. “I hope to hear positive developments and positive results from the Secretary-General.”

Talks between Guterres, Christodoulides and Erhurman are scheduled to resume on Wednesday morning as the United Nations continues its efforts to determine whether conditions exist for the formal resumption of Cyprus peace negotiations.

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