The New York meeting did not break the deadlock on the Cyprus problem, but it did keep the effort alive

 

18 July 2025, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The informal meeting in New York, as otherwise expected, did not lead to breakthrough in the prolonged impasse on the Cyprus issue, but it kept the effort alive with the involvement of the United Nations secretary-general. The fact that the discussion ended up revolving around Confidence Building Measures (CBM’s) and crossing points is indicative of the distance which exists from the goal of resuming negotiations.

While AKEL appreciates the importance that the CBM’s can have, but it insists that the focus must be on continuing the talks from the point where they broke off in 2017 in Crans Montana, with all the convergences secured and by negotiating on the basis of the Guterres Framework on the remaining issues. The unwavering insistence on this basis and framework is also the response to the unacceptable demands by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership for “sovereign equality” and a two-state solution, which are positions that violate the framework of the UN Resolutions and dangerous for the future of our people. At the same time, AKEL underlines that the Greek Cypriot side and the Republic of Cyprus in general can and must take initiatives towards this end, demonstrating that a solution to the Cyprus problem can be beneficial for all sides.

Disappointment at the lack of substantial progress on the Cyprus problem should not lead our people to resignation and to the abandonment of the goal of the solution, nor should it lead to a compromise with the occupational-partitionist status quo. The solution of the Cyprus problem, the liberation and reunification of our country, is a condition and prerequisite for the future of upcoming generations in our country.

18.07.2025