Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders are scheduled to meet on Jan. 20 for talks on opening new crossing points on the ethnically divided island, according to officials and diplomats on Friday.
The island of Cyprus has nine crossings along the 180-kilometer (116-mile) cease-fire line that separates Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Thousands use them daily with long queues and traffic jams a regular occurrence.
“We are going to this meeting with a constructive stance and hope the same sincere will is shown by the other side to facilitate the objective, which is opening new crossing points,” Konstantinos Letymbiotis, spokesperson for the Greek Cypriot administration, told a television channel.
The talks will be between Nikos Christodoulides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar.
A U.N. spokesperson confirmed to Reuters the talks would take place at the home of a U.N. envoy to the island in a “buffer zone” straddling opposing sides in the capital Lefkoşa (Nicosia).
Last month, 13 Greek and Turkish Cypriot political parties endorsed a call for more crossing points, as an essential step to foster greater confidence-building between the sides.
For months, envoys of the two sides have discussed the modalities of opening new checkpoints, which cut through now-military zones and need the agreement of the military.
The cease-fire line was completely sealed until April 2003, when Turkish Cypriot authorities opened one crossing, triggering a surge of tens of thousands of Cypriots to areas off-limits to them for decades.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) declared independence in 1983 after a coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention, dubbed the Cyprus Peace Operation, as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
An international embargo against Turkish Cyprus is currently in place in several areas that allow access to international communications, postal services and transport only through Türkiye, which does not recognize Greek Cyprus.
Turkish Cyprus has been committed to demanding a two-state solution that would ensure international recognition and equal sovereignty and status, something the Greek Cypriots reject out of hand.
UN efforts
Türkiye and TRNC on Wednesday repeated their call for a two-state solution, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan saying it was possible for Türkiye, Greece, the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administration to come together and find a solution for a better future for the island.
U.N.-backed reunification talks have been in limbo since the last round collapsed at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in July 2017 between guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the U.K.
The U.N. is currently working to revive peace talks in what observers have called a last chance for the island of Cyprus. A report from U.N. Secretary-General’s personal envoy on Cyprus earlier this week said despite efforts “no common ground had been found” between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders on the way forward.
The report recalled that, as the envoy noted, it was agreed to hold an informal meeting in a “broader format” with the participation of the guarantor countries due to the lack of “common ground” between the parties.