Cyprus rivals head to Geneva for peace talks, seek ‘common ground’ at premium

Nearly four years after the Crans-Montana talks failed, rival Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders headed to participate in a 3-day UN talk in Geneva to find “common ground” on the divided Mediterranean island. The talks, expected to be held between April 27-29 will be convened by United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres, spokeswoman for the UN Information Service (UNIS) said in a statement.  “We go to Geneva steadfastly committed to resuming negotiations for reunifying Cyprus in a bi-zonal bi-communal federation,” in line with UN resolutions, international and EU law, said Nikos Christodoulides, foreign minister of the Greek Cypriot-run Republic of Cyprus. 

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades described the Geneva meeting as an important new effort. Our effort is not to usurp anyone’s rights. Our effort is to find a way for both communities to feel safe, and for the human rights of both communities of the entire Cypriot people to be guaranteed,” Anastasiades said at the start of his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Cyprus rivals will hold a dialogue in line with UN resolutions, international and EU law to reach a resolution for the two entrenched sides. The Cyprus dispute has been existent since 1974, when Turkish troops occupied the northern third of the Anatolian peninsula’s extension, dividing the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean into the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

While there never has been a "Cypriot nation" established due to the distinct nationals, religious and cultural differences, the Cyprus issue an International conflict lies in the unrecognized Turkish-Cypriot North. Cyprus island’s Nicosia would be the only divided capital worldwide since EOKA-B the paramilitary forces were directed by the Greek junta in 1974 to overthrow President Makarios’ administration in a coup. Under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Turkish armed forces invaded, occupying 36 percent of the island’s overall territory to protect Turkish Cypriots.

EU 'strongly committed'

Last month, the UN invited Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders and the guarantor states Turkey, Greece, and the UK to resume informal talks in Geneva on April 27-29. “Upcoming UN informal 5+1 talks will provide opportunity towards the urgently needed resumption of talks,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had said in a tweet. “The UN work on the ground is essential for confidence building,” he said, adding that the EU was “strongly committed” to support these efforts. Borrell also met Ersin Tatar, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). He announced in a social media post, that he underlined the "importance of reaching agreement on settlement negotiations & of the relaunch of UN process" under the established parameters. “EU is ready to provide full support to the benefit of all Cypriots,” he said.

"The meeting in Geneva will be informal. There will be no new negotiations to be held there," Mevlut Cavusoglu had said at a joint news conference with Ersin Tatar, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), following their talks in Lefkosa. "We believe that we will no longer waste time on the federal solution and that new ideas and new vision should be discussed," he said.

A spokeswoman for the UN Information Service (UNIS) said in a statement that talks are expected to be held from Tuesday to Thursday next week, and UN head Antonio Guterres is expected to be there with both Cypriot parties and the guarantor countries – Turkey, Greece, and the UK. Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a presser that the upcoming Geneva talks on the Cyprus dispute would be informal. The Crans-Montana conference was held in 2017 in Switzerland, which was attended by guarantor countries. The talks failed after the Greek Cypriot side left the table.