Neophytou criticises Christodoulides over Cyprus problem progress

Nicosia, Cyprus. Former Disy president Averof Neophytou criticised President Nikos Christodoulides’ handling of the Cyprus problem, saying the issue was progress towards a settlement rather than whether the president would take a summer holiday.

Response to holiday comments

In a social media post responding to comments Christodoulides made during a television interview with Ant1, Neophytou said the president had misunderstood the point.

“You got the implication, Mr President, but you pretend not to understand,” he wrote.

“Not every issue is personal. The question is not whether you will take a holiday, but whether you will give the national issue indefinite leave.”

Christodoulides had said earlier that he would not take a holiday in August in order to concentrate on the Cyprus problem.

Call for reunification efforts

Neophytou said he would fully support any genuine effort to advance reunification talks.

“We will become even better friends if you actually overcome the obstacle of a crossing point to open the way for a solution,” he said.

“I repeat, if you go for the solution, I will be by your side. If not, you will have to reckon with history.”

Crossing point delays

Neophytou also criticised the lack of progress on opening new crossing points, noting that Christodoulides had committed in March 2025 to opening four.

“If for a year and a half you have not agreed with the Turkish Cypriots to open even one, how many more decades will it take for the refugees to return to their properties and for the Cyprus problem to be resolved?” he asked.

The comments followed deadlocked discussions on new crossing points during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Cyprus last week.