Leaders of the rival Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot administrations have signalled a renewed push to revive long-stalled peace talks on Cyprus, agreeing on a series of confidence-building measures that diplomats say could help restore momentum but fall well short of bridging deep-rooted political divisions.
At a meeting hosted by the United Nations on Thursday, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and newly elected Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhürman agreed to pursue practical steps aimed at improving daily life on the divided island, including easing cross-border movement and advancing long-delayed economic cooperation.
The talks, held in the U.N.-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia and attended by U.N. envoy Maria Angela Holguin, marked the first direct engagement between Christodoulides and Erhürman since the latter’s election, and were portrayed by the U.N. as part of a cautious effort to rebuild trust after years of diplomatic paralysis.
Among the measures discussed were plans to allow Turkish Cypriot producers of halloumi (hellim) cheese — the island’s flagship export — to gain access to European Union markets, speeding up traffic at some of the busiest crossing points between north and south, and completing water infrastructure to supply Greek Cypriot farmers from a treatment plant in the north.
U.N. officials said the leaders also agreed to meet frequently and to take part in a broader informal meeting to be convened by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, following a Geneva summit in March that produced what the world body described as the first tangible progress in years.
Despite the more constructive tone, diplomats and analysts caution that the measures remain technical and confidence-focused, while the fundamental disagreements over Cyprus’s future political structure remain unresolved.
Christodoulides said the discussions had, for the first time in a long period, touched on the “core issues” of the dispute, while Erhürman described the meeting as “first steps” toward comprehensive negotiations, stressing that talks could only resume meaningfully if Greek Cypriots accepted Turkish Cypriot political equality.
That condition underscores the central impasse. Greek Cypriots favour a reunified, bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, while Türkiye and recent Turkish Cypriot leaderships have pushed for a two-state solution — a stance rejected by the EU and the United Nations. Erhürman has signalled greater openness to a federal model, but faces political pressure both domestically and from Ankara.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek-backed coup prompted a Turkish military intervention. The TRNC, declared in 1983, is recognised only by Türkiye, which maintains more than 35,000 troops in the north. The internationally recognised Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU in 2004, though EU law is suspended in the north.
Repeated rounds of U.N.-brokered talks have failed, most recently in Crans-Montana in 2017. While Guterres said earlier this year that a “new atmosphere” was emerging, confidence-building measures have historically struggled to translate into sustained political negotiations.
Any breakthrough could have implications beyond the island, including unlocking cooperation over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. For now, however, officials acknowledge that while trust-building steps may ease tensions, they are not a substitute for resolving the core political questions that have divided Cyprus for more than half a century.