Fresh Hope for Cyprus: President Christodoulides Signals Readiness for Talks After Erhürman’s Landslide Win
NICOSIA, CYPRUS: Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has declared his country’s immediate readiness to resume reunification talks, a process stalled for eight years, following the landslide victory of pro-European Social Democrat Tufan Erhürman in the Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus leadership election.
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Euronews’ flagship programme, The Europe Conversation, President Christodoulides stated, “I’m ready to resume negotiations even next week.” His declaration comes just two months before the start of the Cypriot EU presidency.
The victory of Erhürman, who ran on a platform advocating for the reunification of Cyprus under a federal model, has revived hopes for a renewed attempt to resolve the decades-long dispute that has plagued the Eastern Mediterranean island.
“I believe this is a positive development,” Christodoulides remarked on the election outcome. He set a clear condition for the resumption of talks, noting that if Erhürman comes to the negotiating table “and talks clearly about bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, then I think the road is open for the solution of the Cyprus problem based on the UN Security Council resolution.”
The President firmly rejected the two-state solution for the island, a proposal advanced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The last round of UN-backed negotiations collapsed in Switzerland in 2017.
Cyprus, a former British colony, has been divided since a 1974 Greek military coup, which sought to unite the island with Greece, prompted a Turkish invasion. The island remains split between the Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus in the south, which is the sole EU member, and the Turkish Northern Cyprus in the north, despite numerous failed attempts by the United Nations to broker a deal. The current framework supported by the Republic of Cyprus and the UN Security Council calls for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.
The interview also saw President Christodoulides speak about his vision for the future of his country, the European Union, and the ongoing quest for peace in Gaza.