NIKOS CHRISTODOULIDIS—President of the Republic—June 5, 2026“
This is also the message we are sending to Turkey, which remains a candidate country, that if it fulfills its own obligations, the EU and the Republic of Cyprus are here to respond.”
That was President Christodoulides’ message in early June. Now let’s see what Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told us a few hours ago.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN – Turkish President / Al Jazeera Interview: “The
European Union is not a priority for us. We have told the European Union many times that it will lose out if we do not join—not Turkey.”
Nicosia therefore expects Turkey to consider the benefits of a solution in conjunction with its future accession to the European Union, while Erdogan himself states that he is not in the least interested in whether his country will ever join the European family.
All this is happening at a time when Nicosia is seeking further involvement from Brussels in the effort to resume talks, which will take place through the new informal five-party format.
In any case, attention regarding the Cyprus issue is focused on the meeting between the two leaders the Wednesday after next—the first since António Guterres’s visit to Nicosia. This meeting will reveal whether there is common ground for convening the new informal five-party talks, which the UN Secretary-General was unable to announce during his visit here.
Proper preparation is crucial at this stage, which is why the two negotiators, Menelaos Menelaou and Mehmet Dana, will discuss these matters next Thursday morning during a meeting in which outstanding points of disagreement will be addressed, including the possible opening of new roadblocks.
In an online post that caused a stir and sparked considerable discussion, Averof Neophytou argued that in the past, both AKEL and DISY feared the political cost and made wrong decisions regarding the Cyprus issue.
AVEROF NEOPHYTOU – Former President of DISY “In
my view, history will hold AKEL accountable: First, for saying ‘NO’ to the U.S.-British-Canadian plan, and second, for saying ‘NO’ to the Annan Plan.
And to DISY: First, for burying the Gali ideas, and second, for the failure of the Crans-Montana talks.”
Averof Neophytou’s
post dominated the Cypriot “X” for hours.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
See Giorgos Chrysanthou’s report:
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