Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has said that he will “immediately” accept the opening of formal negotiations with the aim of resolving the Cyprus problem if his counterpart, President Nikos Christodoulides, unconditionally accepts that there be a rotating presidency in a post-solution Cyprus.

He said the issue had most recently been raised during the United Nations’ high-level week last month, when both he and Christodoulides were in New York, with Christodoulides having requested a tripartite meeting with him and either UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres or Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin.

With Christodoulides pushing for a meeting before both men returned to Cyprus, Erhurman said that Holguin had informed him that “the Greek Cypriot side was ready to accept the rotating presidency”.

In response, he said, he had said that “I am ready to sit at the negotiating table if the Greek Cypriot leader, Nikos Christodoulides, explicitly and unconditionally accepts the rotating presidency”.

However, he said, he “received no response” to this, and as such, no meeting was held before both men returned from New York.

“Our stance is consistent and stable. We are ready for all kinds of negotiations, but the preparation must be done properly. We are pushing for a result,” he said.

In the absence of this commitment, he said, “I did not want a token meeting” or a “photo opportunity meeting”, but instead, “I want to get work done.”

Christodoulides said Erhurman wishes to set ‘preconditions’

Those comments come after Christodoulides had accused him of attempting to set “preconditions” on the resumption of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem in reaction to his insistence on a rotating presidency.

“It is clear that the Turkish side … is setting terms and preconditions for the resumption of talks. They are demanding that we accept, in advance, specific positions of interest to the Turkish Cypriot community, while showing absolutely no willingness to discuss or accept our own positions on other significant aspects of the Cyprus problem,” he said.

He added that “it is for this reason that I have repeatedly stated that all these issues must be discussed at the negotiating table”.

“In my view, setting terms and preconditions prior to the resumption of negotiations is a tactic which does not facilitate progress,” he said, before adding that the Turkish Cypriot side’s view is “particularly revealing” as it “sheds light on why the talks have not yet resumed” and “highlights one of the primary reasons for this continued delay”.

Dana: Rotating presidency an indispensable component of political equality

The rotating presidency has long been viewed by the Turkish Cypriot side as being fundamental to the political equality between Cyprus’ two major communities which is stipulated by United Nations resolutions.

Erhurman’s undersecretary Mehmet Dana had told the Cyprus Mail that it is an “indispensable component” of political equality, saying that “political equality forms the foundation of a structure requiring the joint exercise of a limited number of specific powers, shared competences, and this is not open to negotiation”.

He added that the “primary reason” for the collapse of previous rounds of negotiations on the Cyprus problem, and “specifically” those between Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci at Crans-Montana in 2017, was that “political equality was made a subject of negotiation and subsequently used to cause a deadlock in the process”.

Therefore, he said, “guided by the [United Nations] secretary-general’s approach that ‘this time must be different’, acceptance of this issue in principle must occur prior to the commencement of the negotiation process”.

“Naturally, once the rotating presidency is accepted in principle, the specific terms, such as the duration of the respective tenures and other details, would be negotiated once the talks actually begin,” he said.

Cypriot member of the European Parliament Giorgos Georgiou, of Akel, likened the European Union to Pontius Pilate, as the Strasbourg plenary session discussed preparations for next month’s Cop31 climate summit, which will be held in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya.

“The climate crisis is here. Wildfires, heatwaves, drought, catastrophic floods, a state of constant emergency. It is the European peoples, of course, who pay the price,” he said, before adding that The Left, the European grouping to which he belongs, is “demanding the obvious” from the Cop31 summit.

He said that what must be achieved is “action, not new promises”, as “we have already been burned and drowned by promises”.

“The battle against the climate crisis is, of course, not merely an environmental one. It is a struggle for social justice and equality, free from exclusion, yet, regrettably, Turkey has sought to obstruct the participation of the Republic of Cyprus and to weaponise the conference,” he said.

In this, he said that Turkey is “aiming to politically promote the illegal secessionist entity in the occupied territories” through its hosting of Cop31, and that this alleged aim is “consistent with the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum”, the maritime jurisdiction deal which was ratified by the Libyan parliament on Tuesday.

“As for you, shall I say it? I shall. You are acting like Pontius Pilates regarding Turkey, and perhaps even regarding the climate,” he said.

Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judea and is best known in the contemporary era for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion. His name has become a metaphor for refusing personal accountability for a harmful decision and moral cowardice.

Climate change ‘even more pronounced in Europe’

Diko’s Costas Mavrides also spoke during the Cop31 debate and stressed that “climate change is, in fact, not an ideology”, and that it is “even more pronounced in Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean”.

He stressed that “such global problems … require global approaches and international cooperation”, and on this front stressed the need for “concrete, measurable targets aimed at closing the gap between stated objectives and their practical implementation”.

In addition, he, too criticised Turkey for what he decried as “weaponising” the summit, saying that this has come “once again to the detriment of the Republic of Cyprus”, and that the Turkish government has “attempted to block the president of Cyprus’ participation”.

As such, he called on the European Union’s institutions to “stand firmly in defence of this member state of the European Union and the United Nations”.

Christodoulides, Erhurman to attend summit in Antalya

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had announced last week that he will “of course” attend the summit, adding that, “I am pleased that, thanks to the decisive contribution of our partners, and following our diplomatic and political efforts conducted away from the public eye, we have achieved a result”.

His participation had initially been in doubt as the Republic of Turkey does not recognise him as a head of state.

Asked whether he may also be expecting “unpleasant surprises” during the summit, he said that “we are preparing for any eventuality, and I must tell you that we do not rule one out”.

“At the same time, there will also be reactions from the Republic of Cyprus’ side, a member state of the European Union, of the EU which has 27 member states,” he said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, too, said he will attend the summit, saying that “we received an invitation from the president of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan” and that “we will be in Antalya”.

He added that he has “learned from the press” that President Nikos Christodoulides “has also announced that he will be there, as is customary”.

“As we always say, diplomacy and dialogue are always beneficial,” he said.

Turkey has been designated as a co-host for the summit, alongside Australia, with Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum designated as the chairman of Cop31 and Australian Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen set to preside over negotiations between political leaders at the Antalya summit.

While Turkey does not recognise Christodoulides as a head of state, a host country does not have the right to unilaterally exclude any United Nations member state from the negotiations which take place during the 12-day summit.

Communities have been invited to submit projects for a new €3.5 billion funding round, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday during a visit to the village of Sykopetra in Limassol.

Speaking at the opening of the Prophet Elias community park and mini football pitch, Christodoulides said the government would decide on projects across Cyprus worth that sum in the new period.

He urged the community council to put forward projects, alone or with neighbouring communities, so they could be approved next September.

He said the government had shown through its projects that rural and mountain areas were a priority.

He cited the 2024 decision to keep Kampos primary school open when it had only one pupil.

Many more children now attend, he said, because the school drew young parents to the village.

He said communities needed infrastructure, especially in Limassol, so that young couples could return, and that the aim was for villages to grow beyond 120 residents.

The community council’s contribution to development projects has been cut to 5 per cent.

Christodoulides said support for equipping the clinic at the community stadium should be taken for granted.

For community toilets, he asked the council to say how much was needed for studies, to be handled through the commissioner for mountainous communities.

A house renovation for an office and a thematic museum would be supported once plans were mature and permits secured.

He said the Palaichori to Sykopetra road widening, or a new link to Apliki, concerned the Nicosia district governor Constantinos Yiorkadjis, and promised to return to see whether work could proceed in phases.

Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou said on Wednesday that problems over the routing of the Pyroi crossing point “have been overcome”, although a dispute over a second crossing point still stands in the way of an agreement.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Menelaou said the remaining obstacle was the Turkish Cypriot demand that the Louroujina to Lympia crossing be included in any such deal.

He said the Louroujina issue remains open and has not yet been reconciled with the Greek Cypriot proposal for a crossing at Kokkina.

The earlier dispute concerned the route of the proposed road from Athienou through Pyroi to the Nicosia suburb of Aglandjia.

The Greek Cypriot side treats it as a single crossing, while the Turkish Cypriot side objected to a road running through so many kilometres of the buffer zone, arguing that it created security complications.

Menelaou told the Cyprus Mail the route now sits roughly evenly, between the government-controlled areas and the occupied north.

Pyroi is a ruined village in the north, inside a Turkish military zone, whose residents have been displaced since 1974.

Athienou lies on the government-controlled side, and a crossing would cut the drive from there to Nicosia from up to an hour to about ten minutes.

Christodoulides said on Tuesday that he had given Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman two new proposals on crossing points, one of which had already been rejected.

Erhurman separately confirmed late on Tuesday that he had rejected a proposal to open the fenced-off area of Varosha under United Nations administration and the port of Famagusta under European Union control.

He said formal negotiations could not begin until the sides agree on methodology and make progress on confidence-building measures.

New crossing points are the most concrete of those measures, as both sides agreed on a package of four after an enlarged meeting in Geneva in March 2025, when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told each side to suggest two.

The Greek Cypriot side proposed the Athienou to Aglandjia road, with a crossing at each end, while the Turkish Cypriot side proposed Mia Milia and Louroujina.

The package has since stalled, for during Guterres’ visit in July, sources told the Cyprus Mail that the Greek Cypriot side suggested opening only two of the four, with Louroujina shelved, which the Turkish Cypriot side refused.

The prospects of holding a broader meeting on the Cyprus problem would depend on two parallel diplomatic efforts, involving discussions under United Nations auspices and initiatives by the European Union, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday.

Speaking after his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, Christodoulides said the outcome would depend on talks concerning the substance and methodology of negotiations during the upcoming visit of the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin, as well as the results of ongoing EU diplomatic contacts.

Christodoulides said an important meeting involving the EU was taking place on Tuesday but declined to confirm whether he was referring to a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and European Council President Antonio Costa.

“I do not want to say anything before the EU makes an announcement,” he said, adding that Nicosia expected to be informed of the outcome later in the day.

‘Good meeting’ with Erhurman

Describing his meeting with Erhurman as “a good meeting”, Christodoulides said most of the discussion had focused on substantive issues and methodology.

“There were many questions and clarifications from both sides,” he said, adding that these discussions would continue during Holguin’s visit, which begins on October 29.

The visit will include separate meetings with the two leaders and a trilateral meeting scheduled for November 9.

On confidence-building measures, Christodoulides said he was still awaiting responses from Erhurman to several proposals submitted by the Greek Cypriot side.

Of the 19 proposals he had previously put forward, approximately six or seven remained unanswered, while others had been rejected.

“Just because something has been rejected does not mean we do not bring it back to the table,” he said, pointing to the Technical Committee on Youth, which he said had taken two years to gain acceptance.

Opening more crossing points

On the issue of crossing points, the president said he had submitted two alternative proposals, one of which had been rejected, while the other remained under consideration.

He said Erhurman had requested further clarification and was expected to respond at their next meeting.

He stressed that opening a crossing point at Pyroi-Athienou remained a fundamental requirement.

The president also welcomed progress on initiatives concerning the environment and cultural heritage, which were included in the joint UN statement issued after Tuesday’s meeting.

He said Erhurman had responded positively to a proposal for the exchange of cultural artefacts between the two communities, allowing them to proceed with the exchange of relevant lists.

Joint environmental initiatives will also be pursued through the Technical Committee on the Environment.

Holguin to visit later this month

Asked about his upcoming meetings with Holguin, Christodoulides said he was prepared to meet her as often as necessary.

“If daily meetings are needed, that is my priority,” he said, adding that he would also be willing to attend an earlier joint meeting if the UN envoy considered it necessary.

He confirmed that he expected to meet Erhurman again before Holguin’s arrival, possibly next Tuesday.

Asked whether he would request the UN provide a document outlining previous convergences before negotiations resume, Christodoulides declined to elaborate.

“On these matters, I prefer to act first and inform you afterwards,” he said.

Before Holguin’s arrival, Christodoulides and Erhurman intend to meet with the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the Technical Committee on Youth and the Steering Committee of the Civil Society Consultative Body.

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman agreed to meet again next week following what the United Nations described as a constructive meeting on Tuesday in the UN Protected Area in Nicosia.

According to the UN, the two leaders continued discussions on confidence-building measures, methodology and the substance of the Cyprus problem.

They welcomed the upcoming arrival of UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin, who is expected in Cyprus on October 29.

Both leaders are due to hold separate meetings with Holguin ahead of a trilateral meeting scheduled for November 9.

The two also agreed to move forward with initiatives concerning the environment and the exchange of cultural artefacts.

Before Holguin’s arrival, Christodoulides and Erhurman intend to meet with the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the Technical Committee on Youth and the Steering Committee of the Civil Society Consultative Body.

The leaders agreed to continue their discussions at another meeting next week.

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman meet on Tuesday at 11am in Nicosia, with Christodoulides saying he was approaching the meeting with the sole aim of achieving positive developments.

On Monday, Christodoulides said the UN had proposed dates for a joint meeting between the leaders of the two communities and the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin. The Greek Cypriot side, he said, had already responded positively.

“I am going to the meeting with one and only one objective: to have positive developments,” Christodoulides said.

On whether Tuesday’s meeting could result in an announcement on the opening of four new crossing points, the president said the Greek Cypriot side was ready to proceed, provided there was a positive response from the Turkish Cypriot side.

“I hope there will be. We are ready. If there is a response, of course we are ready to proceed with such an announcement,” he said.

He added that the Greek Cypriot side was also prepared to move forward on other issues raised by the UN chief, including the substance of negotiations, methodology and confidence-building measures.

President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday warned that the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the spread of disinformation and the growing influence of social media were posing serious challenges to journalism and democracy, as he stressed the importance of protecting an independent press.

Speaking at an event marking the 150th anniversary of Greek newspaper Estia at the University of Cyprus, Christodoulides said the traditional press was facing an existential crisis, while technological developments were transforming the way information is produced and consumed.

“Electronic technology, the digital revolution and, of course, uncontrolled artificial intelligence without any governance framework are creating new conditions in the information sector, posing many challenges for society itself and for states,” he said.

While acknowledging that social media platforms promote pluralism and the free exchange of ideas, he warned that they could also contribute to violations of fundamental human rights.

“In today’s era of fake news, clickbait and many other phenomena which, in my personal view, do anything but strengthen our democracy, the role of the press becomes even more crucial and essential,” he said.

“Disinformation, false and inaccurate news, the misleading use of artificial intelligence, financial and other dependencies are issues that concern us all and require immediate attention.”

Speaking to reporters before the event, Christodoulides said the issue was also causing growing concern across Europe and had recently been discussed at the European Council.

Against this backdrop, he described the anniversary celebration as an important occasion for Cyprus and Hellenism, particularly given the challenges facing established media organisations.

During his address, the president said the printed press had undergone profound changes over the past 150 years, particularly following the rapid expansion of digital technology.

Christodoulides said the government recognised the importance of print journalism and continued to provide financial support for the publication and distribution of daily and weekly newspapers and magazines.

The president also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the right of journalists to scrutinise and criticise those in power.

Turning to the anniversary itself, Christodoulides praised Estia, which first appeared as a magazine in 1876 and is now Greece’s oldest newspaper, for maintaining its editorial, linguistic and aesthetic traditions throughout its history.

President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday that the United Nations has proposed dates for a joint meeting between the leaders of the two communities and the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy on Cyprus Maria Angela Holguin, with the Greek Cypriot side having already responded positively.

Christodoulides said he was approaching Tuesday’s meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman with the sole aim of achieving positive developments.

“I am going to the meeting with one and only one objective: to have positive developments,” he said.

“We have a discussion which has begun and is continuing, and I hope we will have a positive outcome. We have also been given some dates for Ms Holguin’s arrival and a joint meeting between the three of us.

“We have responded positively. I believe the Turkish Cypriot leader will also have responded positively, and I genuinely hope that tomorrow we will have positive news to announce,” he added.

Asked when Holguin was expected to arrive in Cyprus, Christodoulides said the announcement would be made by the United Nations, confirming that her visit would take place before the end of October.

On whether Tuesday’s meeting could result in an announcement on the opening of four new crossing points, the president said the Greek Cypriot side was ready to proceed, provided there was a positive response from the Turkish Cypriot side.

“I hope there will be. We are ready. If there is a response, of course we are ready to proceed with such an announcement,” he said.

He added that the Greek Cypriot side was also prepared to move forward on other issues raised by the UN Secretary-General, including the substance of negotiations, methodology and confidence-building measures.

Asked whether there had been a positive response from the Turkish Cypriot side, Christodoulides declined to speak on its behalf.

President Nikos Christodoulides said that Cyprus faces a “very serious” demographic problem, with births having fallen to their lowest rate since 2017.

Speaking at the opening of a community nursery in Limassol on Sunday, he said the government was tackling the issue through “a very specific plan”.

He put the rate at 1.3 and said at least 2.1 was needed to replace the population every 25 years.

Statistical service data show the fertility rate stood at 1.4 children per woman in 2024, unchanged from the year before, but has declined steadily from a local peak of 2.5 in 1982 and has stayed below the replacement level of 2.1 since 1995.

Births fell from 10,241 in 2023 to 9,766 in 2024 and then to 9,230 last year.

Natural population growth, births minus deaths, was only 2,426 last year, with deaths running above 6,000 annually.

Reaching the government’s target of 2.1 would require more than 14,000 births a year, which Cyprus has never reached since records began in 1974, the best year being 1992, with 11,372 births, primarily as a result of child benefit being increased the year before under President George Vassiliou.

The population itself is however growing, chiefly through migration, rising 1.7 per cent to about 983,000 last year, with net migration at 13,588.

The share of residents aged 65 and over rose from 11.3 per cent in 2000 to 18.3 per cent last year, while children under 15 fell from 22.3 per cent to 15.2 per cent.

Successive governments have relied mainly on financial incentives, as the last initiative Christodoulides promoted was a €50m package, which included €200 a month for mothers under 30 and a childbirth grant rising from €1,000 for a first child to €2,000 for a third.

The package also provided for subsidies to firms with more than 100 staff to set up nurseries, and for child benefit to be extended by removing income and property tests for families with five or more dependants.

The church began its own scheme this year, which more than 1,000 individuals have applied for, granting families with a third child or more, paying €1,500 at baptism, further sums at each school stage and €100 vouchers at Easter and Christmas until the child turns 18.

The national organisation of large families (POP) said that the state demographic agency was marked by “piecemeal policy measures” and a lack of strategic planning.

The body stated that the number of Cypriot large-family beneficiaries of child benefit fell from 10,065 in 2012 to only 3,166 last year, a drop of about 69 per cent.

Social Welfare Deputy Minister Tina Pavlou said last week that people wanting children “need meaningful incentives and conditions”.

She said a bill would bring an estimated 17,000 more families, with 23,500 children, into eligibility for child benefit from next year.

Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides told a conference on October 9 that demographic change was “a national responsibility” affecting the staffing and financing of services.

POP have warned that “no country that has fallen below a fertility rate of 1.5 has ever managed to return above it.”

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman will meet on Tuesday, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Monday, with the meeting the latest of ongoing weekly discussions being held by the pair.

“Our goal remains to achieve substantive progress in the effort to resume negotiations from the point at which they were interrupted, within the agreed-upon framework,” Letymbiotis said.

He added that “we approach this with the same constructive spirit, consistency, and concrete proposals, in the conviction that, through substantial dialogue, the conditions for the next steps can be created”.

The meeting will come just three days after the two leaders jointly attended a bicommunal festival in the Larnaca district village of Pyla, with Christodoulides saying of their presence at the festival that “we are sending a message of peace”.

“We are sending a message of … coexistence and a message regarding the need to finally reunify our homeland. I reiterate what I said in a recent interview with the Turkish Cypriot press: if it were up to the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, out homeland would certainly be reunified,” he said.

However, the two leaders’ positions remain considerably apart on a range of issues, including political equality in a post-solution Cyprus, with Christodoulides on Sunday accusing Erhurman of “setting preconditions” in the latter’s insistence on a rotating presidency between the two communities should a solution be found.

“It is clear that the Turkish side … is setting terms and preconditions for the resumption of talks. They are demanding that we accept, in advance, specific positions of interest to the Turkish Cypriot community, while showing absolutely no willingness to discuss or accept our own positions on other significant aspects of the Cyprus problem,” he said.

The rotating presidency is viewed by the Turkish Cypriot side as being fundamental to the political equality between Cyprus’ two major communities which is stipulated by United Nations resolutions.

Dana: Rotating presidency an indispensable component of political equality

Erhurman’s undersecretary Mehmet Dana had told the Cyprus Mail that it is an “indispensable component” of political equality, saying that “political equality forms the foundation of a structure requiring the joint exercise of a limited number of specific powers, shared competences, and this is not open to negotiation”.

Disagreements also remain over the question of what the pair should be discussing at their meetings, with Christodoulides having put forward 19 new points for discussion at a meeting last month.

The substance of those 19 points has not been publicly disclosed, though Erhurman has described them as “throwing a spanner in the works”.

He said he believes the discussions should be based on he “seven proposals for confidence-building measures which [United Nations Secretary-General Antonio] Guterres voiced on the island at the end of July”.

Those seven issues were crossing points, mine clearance, the citizenship of children born of mixed marriages, sports, joint disaster response and a joint mechanism to combat irregular migration.

Meanwhile, UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin is expected to return to the island before the end of this month, and she said on Saturday that confidence-building measures across Cyprus’ divide “need to be implemented” so as to “create trust and demonstrate with facts the actual political will” for rapprochement.

“If, over the past two years, the parties have been unable to agree on a crossing point to facilitate communication, demining, or a joint effort to eliminate plastic pollution across the island … how can they agree on a political, economic and social model capable of overcoming decades of division and growing distance between the two communities?” she asked, while speaking to newspaper Politis.

The European Union and Turkey are preparing high-level talks before the end of October in an attempt to revive negotiations over Cyprus, following an initiative by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced the planned meeting on 16 October during the European Council summit in Brussels, saying discussions would address both the resumption of negotiations over the island’s division and the possibility of improving relations between Ankara and the EU.

The initiative follows diplomatic contacts in New York involving Guterres, European institutional leaders and the Cypriot government. However, renewed differences over the conditions for negotiations have already cast doubt on whether the process can produce substantial progress.

On Sunday, 18 October, Christodoulides accused Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman of imposing preconditions before formal negotiations could resume, particularly concerning arrangements for a rotating presidency in a reunited Cyprus.

The disagreement underlines the difficulties facing an initiative intended to reconnect the UN peace process with the EU’s broader relationship with Turkey.

Brussels seeks a negotiating role

Christodoulides said the planned meeting between the EU and Turkey would examine how to establish the necessary conditions for negotiations to restart within the previously agreed UN framework.

He indicated that any improvement in EU–Turkey relations would be linked to progress over Cyprus.

The president’s announcement in Brussels follows months of diplomatic consultations involving the Commission, European Council and UN.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa have urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to support the renewed peace initiative.

Turkey’s relationship with the EU encompasses trade, customs cooperation, migration and regional security. Ankara remains an EU candidate country, although accession negotiations have been effectively stalled for years.

Cyprus remains one of the principal obstacles to any substantial improvement in that relationship.

The island has been divided since Turkey’s military intervention in 1974. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but EU law remains suspended in areas where its government does not exercise effective control.

The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.

Disagreement over political equality

The UN has traditionally sought a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Negotiations collapsed at Crans-Montana in Switzerland in 2017 amid unresolved disputes over security guarantees, political representation, territory and the presence of Turkish troops.

Erhürman, who became Turkish Cypriot leader in 2025, has expressed support for renewed negotiations within a federal framework. However, he wants assurances about political equality and the structure of future talks.

The latest dispute concerns whether the principle of a rotating presidency between the two communities should be accepted before negotiations resume.

Christodoulides rejected that demand on 18 October, arguing that substantive questions should be negotiated together rather than settled in advance.

The Turkish Cypriot leadership regards rotating executive power as an essential element of political equality, while the Greek Cypriot side objects to making agreement on that arrangement a prerequisite for restarting discussions.

The disagreement has emerged despite recent efforts by the United Nations to improve relations between the communities.

In a statement issued on 13 October, the UN confirmed that Christodoulides and Erhürman had met in Nicosia and agreed to continue discussions, including participation in bicommunal initiatives.

The two leaders subsequently attended a joint event in Pyla, although their public differences persisted.

Turkey’s position remains decisive

A Cyprus settlement would require agreement not only between the island’s communities but also on Turkey’s military presence and the system of security guarantees established at independence.

Ankara has long maintained that Turkish Cypriots require effective political equality and credible security arrangements.

Greek Cypriot leaders argue that the continuation of foreign intervention rights and Turkish military deployments would be incompatible with a fully sovereign and reunited state.

The EU cannot resolve those differences independently of the UN process, but it can influence the economic and institutional framework within which a settlement might operate.

A comprehensive agreement would affect property ownership, trade, customs arrangements, border administration and the application of European law throughout the island.

The European Commission has sought a greater role in supporting the UN-led peace process, reflecting Brussels’ interest in progress towards a settlement.

Negotiations face immediate test

The UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, has warned that the opportunity for renewed negotiations may be narrowing.

Disagreements over diplomatic representation, contacts with foreign missions and the status of Turkish Cypriot institutions have complicated relations between the two communities.

Christodoulides has also referred to a series of proposals intended to advance discussions, including the future of the fenced-off area of Varosha. Their full contents have not been publicly disclosed.

The proposed EU–Turkey meeting offers a separate diplomatic channel through which Brussels can assess Ankara’s willingness to support renewed negotiations.

No final date, detailed agenda or list of participants had been publicly confirmed by 18 October.

The immediate test will be whether the parties can agree on the basis for formal talks without attempting to settle disputed constitutional questions before negotiations begin.