President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman agreed on Monday to open two crossing points, at Louroujina and Kampos, the first new ones in about eight years.
The deal has drawn complaints about congestion in Nicosia and the crossings left out, while political parties said it fell short of expectations.
What was agreed?
At a meeting under UN auspices in Nicosia, the two leaders agreed to open a crossing linking occupied Louroujina with Lympia and another linking Kampos with occupied Karavostasi. The UN said the two would open simultaneously, and Christodoulides said that would happen on the same day after the necessary preparatory work. No date has been given.
Where are they?
Louroujina sits in a salient that marks the southernmost point of the occupied north, separated from the government-controlled area by the UN buffer zone. Kampos is a mountain village in the Nicosia district near Kykkos Monastery, and Karavostasi lies about 6 kilometres north of Lefka. The UN statement did not give exact locations for the crossings.
How far are they from the main cities?
In a straight line, Louroujina is about 20 kilometres from Nicosia, about 19 kilometres from Larnaca and about 53 kilometres from Limassol, while Lympia is about 27 kilometres from the capital. Karavostasi is about 48 kilometres from Nicosia, about 16 kilometres from Morphou and about 54 kilometres from Limassol in a straight line. Kampos is between 70 and 90 kilometres from Nicosia, according to published figures, and about 33 kilometres from Morphou.
Why these two?
Both were among four crossings on the table ahead of Monday’s meeting, along with Mia Milia and the Athienou-Pyroi-Aglandjia route. Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou told CyBC on 21 October that Turkish Cypriot insistence on Louroujina-Lympia was the outstanding obstacle to a deal.
Sigmalive reported last week that Kampos-Karavostasi had been proposed in place of a crossing at occupied Kokkina, to sidestep one of the most difficult issues in the talks. Asked on Monday whether Kampos was an alternative to Kokkina, Christodoulides said Kokkina remained on the table and was among the Greek Cypriot side’s 19 proposals.
Who stands to benefit?
The Kampos community leader, Ioannis Papadopoulos, told Politis Radio last week that a crossing to Karavostasi would end the isolation of the village, which he said now has about 160 residents. He said it would cut journeys by at least 15 to 20 minutes and that the existing road has 256 bends.
Louroujina residents protested in 2020, demanding a crossing to Lympia that reports at the time said would give them faster access to Nicosia.
Will they ease the queues in Nicosia?
The Turkish Cypriot “mayor” of occupied Nicosia, Mehmet Harmanci, said on Monday they would not. Most of the city’s vehicle traffic would stay at the Agios Dometios crossing point, where people wait for hours, he said. In February he estimated that about 60 to 70 per cent of movements were concentrated in Nicosia.
Harmanci wants a crossing at occupied Mia Milia, which Erhurman said in February would ease congestion at Agios Dometios and help both communities. The UN statement gave no traffic estimates.
Why are some people unhappy?
AKEL said the progress on confidence-building measures and the commitment to a new trilateral meeting were a positive step for the climate between the two communities. But it said the announcements on crossing points, both in number and location, fell short of the expectations raised in previous days. The party said Monday’s announcements must be matched by steps on the substance of the Cyprus problem, since the final goal remains resuming negotiations from where they stopped in 2017.
The Movement of Ecologists – Citizens’ Cooperation said the meeting did not produce the expected results because of what it called the intransigence of the Turkish side. The party said the two crossings may make movement easier but could in no way be considered part of a solution. It said they gave the impression of being opened only to meet the formal conditions set by UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to hold a 5+1 conference before his departure.
The Ecologists also claimed that Christodoulides had broken a promise to Tillyria residents to open Kokkina before any other crossing, and said Erdogan and Fidan had declared, as the meeting took place, that the Cyprus problem was a Turkish national cause and that the only solution was partition.
Volt Cyprus welcomed the two crossings, the restart of the Imagine Project and stronger bicommunal cooperation, but said it had taken a year and a half of discussions to agree measures that should be taken for granted. It said Nicosia still has one crossing point, despite an appeal by the city’s mayors to ease congestion, and that this burdens residents of Agios Dometios. Steps that improve daily life are welcome but cannot be presented as real progress on the Cyprus problem, the party said.
Volt said Holguin’s recent remarks on the absence of political will left no room for complacency, and called on the two leaders to abandon tactical manoeuvring, agree on methodology without new preconditions and return to substantive negotiations on the basis of the Guterres framework and a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality.
Harmanci said bolder and more permanent steps had been expected from the two leaders, and that confidence-building measures were not meeting people’s most urgent needs.
The Municipality of Polis Chrysochous and the Tillyria Communities Complex said last week that a crossing at Kampos could not replace one at Kokkina. “There can be no new agreement on crossing points that bypasses the Kokkina crossing,” said Nikos Kleanthous, president of the complex and of the Kato Pyrgos Community Council. Holguin was reported to have told Politis that Kokkina had never been an option, while Christodoulides said before Monday’s meeting that it had always been on the table.
The Athienou-Pyroi-Aglandjia route, which Politis reported could significantly shorten journeys between Larnaca and Nicosia, was also left out. Christodoulides said discussions on it had reached no final outcome.
What happens next?
The UN said talks on other crossing points, and on methodology and substance, would continue in the period ahead and at a trilateral meeting with the UN Secretary-General in the coming weeks.
AKEL said the priority should be securing the convergences recorded by the UN and moving closer to a five-party conference under the UN Secretary-General. It said it had submitted a proposed roadmap to him and briefed the National Council.
Tillyria communities have signalled protest action but have not yet announced any.
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