Yiannis Ioannou
As expected, the informal five-party summit on the Cyprus issue wrapped up in the early hours of Friday morning at United Nations headquarters in New York, without any breakthroughs, but also without the process falling apart.
Despite hopes for some common ground, the two sides failed to reach even a low-level political agreement on confidence-building measures (CBMs), including items already discussed at the March Geneva meeting. And unsurprisingly, there was no movement toward ending the long-standing deadlock in reunification talks.
Still, seasoned observers have described the summit as a "face-saving" exercise for both sides, who agreed to meet again before the end of the year, likely after elections in the Turkish-occupied north, which are now being viewed as a key milestone for any further progress.
Guterres: Some progress, but a long way to go
In remarks after the meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said there had been meaningful progress on four out of six of the CBMs discussed in Geneva. He noted that the two sides were “close” to an agreement on new crossing points, a significant but still unresolved issue.
Two new meetings between the leaders were announced. A trilateral summit is expected to take place in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, followed by another five-party meeting tentatively planned for mid-November.
Guterres also confirmed that new CBMs were placed on the table for discussion, but was cautious in his outlook. “There is still a long road ahead,” he said. “I’m pleased with the steps taken so far, though I would have liked to see more.”
Christodoulides: Results headed in the right direction
President Nikos Christodoulides struck a cautiously optimistic tone in his own post-summit comments. “The outcome is moving in the right direction,” he said. “Could it have been better? Yes, if there had been the necessary political will.”
He acknowledged the progress was limited, but meaningful. “We see a small yet important step toward the bigger goal of restarting talks. What’s also significant is that future meetings between the two leaders have now been scheduled, including an expanded meeting after elections in the occupied north.”
Stalemate on crossing points, Tatar and Turkish army blamed
As for the CBMs themselves, particularly the new crossings, Christodoulides pointed to the Turkish Cypriot side for the lack of progress. “Not only did we accept their proposal to open crossings at Mia Milia and Louroujina,” he said, “but there were also serious discussions about a crossing at Athienou.”
However, according to Christodoulides, the Turkish side said it couldn’t make any final decisions without consulting the Turkish military, an issue that also affects potential crossings near Kokkina. “We wanted to move forward, bring new ideas to the table, and set new dates, and that’s what we achieved,” he concluded.
What's Next?
The process, though far from reignited, is not dead. With new meetings on the horizon and a renewed, if cautious, commitment to dialogue, all eyes now turn to the political climate in the occupied north, and whether the post-election landscape might offer a real opening for talks to resume in earnest.
Until then, it’s more diplomacy by delay, with some hoping November could bring not just another meeting, but finally, a real breakthrough.
*This op-ed was translated from its Greek original.
