Nicosia, Cyprus. Nearly nine years after negotiations on the Cyprus problem collapsed in Crans-Montana, recent political developments and diplomatic contacts have raised the prospect of renewed talks between the island’s two sides.
Nine years since Crans-Montana
Tuesday marks the ninth anniversary of the collapse of negotiations in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana. That breakdown was followed by an extended period in which little progress was made on talks between the two sides, while confidence-building measures remained limited.
Shift in Turkish Cypriot leadership
For much of the period since 2017, the prospect of substantive negotiations appeared remote, particularly after Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar took office. Tatar said he would not engage in serious talks with the Greek Cypriot side unless a two-state solution was on the table.
Tatar has since left office, and Tufan Erhurman’s victory in last October’s election has altered the political landscape around the Cyprus issue.
Conditions set for renewed negotiations
Erhurman entered office with a stated framework for restarting negotiations, though his initial efforts were slowed by difficulties in arranging a first meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He later set out four conditions for the resumption of talks: acceptance by the Greek Cypriot side of political equality, a time limit for negotiations, preservation of all past agreements, and a United Nations guarantee that embargoes on Turkish Cypriots would be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side again left the negotiating table.
Diplomatic contacts and joint declaration
Since then, efforts have focused on building conditions for talks to resume. In December, Erhurman, President Nikos Christodoulides and UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin issued a joint declaration stating that “the real aim is the solution of the Cyprus problem with political equality”.
Both leaders have since met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have also met Erdogan, while additional meetings involving one or both sides, guarantor powers and the United Nations have taken place.
Talk of a new initiative
Throughout the process, officials have repeatedly referred to a “new initiative” by Guterres aimed at restarting negotiations toward a settlement. The phrase was first used in April by government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis and Erhurman and has continued to feature in public statements.
Limited progress on confidence-building measures
Despite the increased diplomatic activity, efforts to produce tangible confidence-building measures have yielded limited results. No new crossing points between the two sides of the island have opened since 2018.
