President Nikos Christodoulides is meeting UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Brussels today to push for a restart of Cyprus reunification talks, rejecting calls for a pause in the process.
The meeting, scheduled for 6pm local time, was arranged following a letter Christodoulides sent last February setting out why efforts on Cyprus must not be halted. Government circles described it as “an important event,” particularly given the regional situation following the outbreak of war against Iran on 28 February and the demands on Guterres’s schedule.
Christodoulides intends to convey in person that there is no justification for any pause. As he argued in his February letter, neither the parliamentary elections nor Cyprus’s EU Council Presidency should be treated as obstacles to progress.
The UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, has indicated that the EU Presidency, the May elections and the need to allow time for the new Turkish Cypriot leader together create a case for some pause in the process. Nicosia disagrees, and government sources said Christodoulides is not attending the meeting to denounce Holguín — but he will push back on her reasoning.
Greek Cypriot officials question why the need to give the new Turkish Cypriot leader time is being raised now, given that Guterres was already aware of the impending leadership election in the occupied north when he set last summer’s timeframe for a new five-party conference. If the UN chief was already factoring in that vote when he spoke of an informal multilateral meeting shortly afterwards, government sources argue there is no logic in invoking it as grounds for delay today.
Christodoulides is also going to listen, government circles stressed — to hear what Guterres has to say, to discuss what has happened since their last meeting, and to map out the next steps on Cyprus.
Guterres’s term ends at the close of this year, and government circles are explicit about the urgency. “The remaining time with the current Secretary-General must be used — he is the most suitable person to handle the restart of negotiations,” they said, noting that he was the one who brought the Cyprus problem to Crans-Montana and has continued working to relaunch the process.
Christodoulides will push for a preparatory dialogue among all five parties, with the restart of negotiations as its primary objective. The Greek Cypriot side also rejects the argument that confidence-building measures must be concluded before anything else can be decided. According to government sources, “CBMs are not an issue that must finish first before negotiations begin.” They pointed to the joint statement issued last December by Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, which stated that CBMs should contribute to the effort to restart talks.
No announcements on the way forward are expected after today’s meeting. Nicosia understands that Guterres will not make any public statement without prior consultation with all parties. Government circles say there is a synchronisation of steps between Guterres and Christodoulides on Cyprus, with the Secretary-General signalling at every opportunity that he has not abandoned his efforts. Nicosia is now waiting for others to align — above all Erhurman, who Greek Cypriot officials say has so far shown no inclination to move outside the framework set by Ankara on the Cyprus problem.
On his return, Christodoulides will convene the National Council on Monday at 10am to brief party leaders on his Brussels meetings, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis announced yesterday.
Elsewhere in Brussels today, Christodoulides will speak at a European Policy Centre event on Cyprus’s EU Council Presidency vision and priorities, highlighting the need to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and European security and defence, and Cyprus’s role as a reliable partner and pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. He will then meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss regional developments, the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and support measures for those affected, and the latest efforts to restart substantive negotiations on Cyprus. He will later attend the Tripartite Social Summit, co-organised by the European Council President and the Commission President, in his capacity as leader of the EU Council Presidency state.
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