Cyprus Times

President Disagrees with UN Envoy's Suggestion to Postpone Cyprus Talks

Published February 21, 2026, 12:06
President Disagrees with UN Envoy's Suggestion to Postpone Cyprus Talks

The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, strongly disagreed with the assessment of the UN Special Envoy for Cyprus, Teressa Olguin, regarding the postponement of the substantive resumption of talks after June. President Christodoulides emphasized that neither Cyprus's assumption of the Council of the EU presidency nor internal election processes should be an obstacle to restarting negotiations. The President presented a five-point proposal to Ms. Olguin, which includes reaffirming the agreed basis for a solution, recording the convergences from Crans Montana, convening an expanded conference by the UN Secretary-General, restarting substantive talks, and opening four roadblocks. He states he is ready to participate in such a process immediately. President Christodoulides estimated that the change in Turkish Cypriot leadership could contribute to the restart of negotiations based on the Bi-zonal, Bi-communal Federation, from where they were interrupted in 2017. He reiterates that the current situation cannot be a solution to the Cyprus problem. Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the President argued that their improvement could help restart talks, but stressed that full normalization cannot exist without resolving the Cyprus issue. He also referred to the importance of regional collaborations, such as the Cyprus-Greece-Israel trilateral cooperation.