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.

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.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman late on Tuesday night confirmed that he had rejected a proposal put forward to him by President Nikos Christodoulides to open and repopulate the fenced-off area of Varosha under the United Nations’ administration and open the port of Famagusta under the European Union’s control.

“Handing over Varosha to the United Nations’ administration, within the framework of the security council resolutions, and opening the port of Famagusta under EU control. That is what is being said,” he told political talk show Er Meydani.

However, he said, “the port of Famagusta is an open port, it is not a closed port”, before elaborating that “the problem with our ports is that we cannot trade directly with the European Union”.

Asked whether the opening of the port of Famagusta would entail the implementation of the EU’s direct trade regulation, which has remained dormant since 2004 after it was drafted following the Greek Cypriot side’s rejection of that year’s Annan plan referendum, he answered in the negative.

“Is this the entry into force of the direct trade regulation? No, it is not the entry into force of the regulation, but since [the port] would be under EU control, direct trade would begin,” he said.

As such, he said, the proposal was unbalanced.

“Why is this the price for handing over Varosha to the UN’s administration? Are these balanced things?” he asked, before pointing out that the same proposal had been put forward in 2006, when Mehmet Ali Talat was Turkish Cypriot leader.

“This formula was presented in 2006 during Talat’s presidency, so 20 years have passed since then, and it has been brought up as if it were a new formula after 20 years. This is something I cannot accept.”

‘When I counted, I never reached 19’

He then spoke about Christodoulides’ 19 points for discussion, and said that he had never received a document listing those 19 points, but that instead, a number of suggestions had been voiced to him during their bilateral meetings.

“He only mentioned a few things verbally. I took notes. When I counted, I never reached 19 in terms of suggestions,” he said.

Then asked about the content of those suggestions, he said that it “would not be in accordance with diplomatic protocol” to disclose them, given that Christodoulides has not yet done so publicly, and that instead, “Christodoulides can make a statement regarding the proposals if he wishes, and when he does, I will discuss it”.

On this front, he said that last Saturday’s joint visit to the bicommunal festival in the Larnaca district village of Pyla was among the suggestions Christodoulides had put forward, and that other joint excursions, including meetings with bicommunal technical committees, also featured among Christodoulides’ suggestions.

He was then asked about accusations that he is “running away” from negotiations, and stressed that “I am not running away from the negotiating table at all”.

‘When I sit at the negotiating table, know that we are very close to a solution’

Instead, he said, he wishes for the next steps to be taken on the Cyprus problem to be “results-orientated”.

“I do not hold meetings for the sake of having meetings. I do not negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. I will not hold a five-plus-one meeting just for the sake of holding a five-plus-one meeting. Why will I do it? To find a solution. To produce something,” he said.

A “five-plus-one” meeting is another term used to describe an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN.

Erhurman stressed that negotiations cannot begin until an agreement is reached between the two sides on their methodology and “progress is achieved on confidence-building measures”, but equally said that a solution to the Cyprus problem may not be as far away as it currently appears.

“When I sit at the negotiating table, know what we are very close to a solution. I cannot say 100 per cent, but it is very likely. Only then will I sit down. I do not negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. I promised I would not keep you waiting at the table for another ten years. I stand by my word,” he said.

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.