It has been 17 months since Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to open four new crossing points at the five-party talks in Geneva. The crossing points were also the main focus of the discussion at the expanded meeting in New York in July. A year after the agreement, the opening of these crossings seems uncertain, while the United Nations appears to be making it a prerequisite for convening the next five-party talks.
“It’s about 12 kilometers of road—11.4 to be exact. I propose that 6 kilometers run through the occupied areas, and the other 6 through the Buffer Zone.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
This is the statement made by António Guterres on July 17, 2025, regarding the opening of the Athienou–Pyroi–Aglantzia corridor. A road nearly 12 kilometers long that is holding the opening of additional checkpoints hostage. The map was submitted by Olgin to António Guterres when he visited the site last year, carrying maps with him.
The discussion over the past year has centered on the Secretary-General’s own compromise proposal, who proposes the construction of a road that would run half through the buffer zone and half through the occupied territories. The Greek Cypriot side agrees with this proposal. Tufan Erhurman, like Ersin Tatar, disagrees, as he believes that part of the route falls within a “military” zone, insisting that the route must either be located north of the buffer zone, on a new parallel road to be funded by Turkey itself, or south of the neutral zone.
“The proposal was further refined during the Secretary-General’s visit. If the response from the Turkish Cypriot side were positive, we could reach an agreement.”
Menelaos Menelaou – Greek Cypriot negotiator
Milia
The Turkish Cypriot leader continues to push for the opening of Mia Milia as a checkpoint that would relieve traffic congestion at the other crossing points for cars. The President of the Republic is not opposed to this, provided that it is part of a package deal involving Athenou.
Lidenis
Also still on the table is the Greek Cypriot side’s proposal to open the pedestrian checkpoint on Lidenis Street in central Nicosia. This neighborhood, which could be revitalized, is located 100 meters from the new city hall within the walls of Nicosia. If opened, it will be the third pedestrian crossing after those on Ledra Street and at Ledra Palace.
In the presence of the Secretary-General, the Turkish Cypriot leader once again put the opening of the route from Louroujina to Lybia on hold, after discussions regarding Athienou reached an impasse. However, when Nikos Christodoulides also proposed opening Kokkina, Tufan Erhurman refused.
The Greek Cypriot side is banking on a win-win solution to the checkpoint issue, through which both sides would see at least one of their demands met. Therefore, the opening of just one checkpoint—which the Turkish Cypriot side wants but does not align with the Greek Cypriot side’s wishes—currently has no basis for agreement.
See the report by Evangelos Agapios:
