The Leaders’ meeting should pave the way for the resumption of negotiations

AKEL on the Cyprus problem:

 

25 August 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

Tomorrow’s meeting between the leaders of the two communities, the first since the UN Secretary-General’s visit to Cyprus, will, we hope, represent a substantial step forward in the effort to resume the negotiations and to overcome the protracted deadlock of the last nine years.

In his public statements in Nicosia, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed his commitment to the effort to solve the Cyprus problem and highlighted the need for proper preparation and concrete steps that will create the preconditions for a new, substantive and effective negotiation procedure. His reference to the need to cover the final stretch, but also to the common ground that has already been achieved, points the way to breaking the deadlock surrounding the Cyprus problem.

The two leaders must proceed within this framework, focusing on the substance and avoiding statements and actions that might hinder the effort underway. Progress on Confidence-Building Measures can contribute positively to creating the necessary climate, however it cannot replace the key objective, which remains the resumption of substantive negotiations.

At this critical juncture, what is required is for specific steps forward to be taken that will pave the way for the convening of a new, enlarged meeting and for the agreement of a roadmap leading to the resumption of the negotiations from the point at which they were suspended.

With a clear commitment to the agreed basis for a solution – a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality and with the safeguarding of the negotiation acquis, including the convergences that have been recorded and the Guterres Framework – real preconditions can be created for a new round of negotiations with the prospect of a successful outcome.