Politis

President of Cyprus Disagrees with UN Envoy on Restarting Talks

Published February 21, 2026, 14:12
President of Cyprus Disagrees with UN Envoy on Restarting Talks

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, expresses strong disagreement with the assessment of the UN Special Envoy for Cyprus, Jane Holl Lute, regarding the postponement of the substantive resumption of talks beyond June. President Christodoulides emphasizes that neither Cyprus's assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU nor internal election processes can be an obstacle to the resumption of negotiations. President Christodoulides presented a five-point proposal for restarting the talks, which includes reaffirming the agreed basis for a solution, recording convergences up to Crans Montana, convening an Expanded Conference by the UN Secretary-General, announcing the resumption of substantive talks, and opening four roadblocks. He states he is ready to participate in such a process even next week. President Christodoulides mentions that the change in Turkish Cypriot leadership may 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 state of affairs cannot be a solution to the Cyprus problem. Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the President supports that their improvement can help restart the talks, but emphasizes that full normalization of relations without resolving the Cyprus issue is not possible. He also points out that any normalization does not waive Turkey's Cyprus-related obligations to the EU.