Akinci hopes UN efforts will bring progress on Cyprus issue

Former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci expressed hope on Wednesday that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to achieve at least some progress on the Cyprus issue would yield positive results, saying that even the opening of one or two additional crossing points would make life easier for Cypriots. Akinci made the remarks in a social media post following a meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, who visited him at his office. Reflecting on the current state of the Cyprus issue, Akinci pointed to missed opportunities for a settlement in 2004 and 2017. “When one considers the situation we find ourselves in today in Cyprus, one cannot help but think of a solution that was lost in 2004 at the referendum stage and in 2017 at a stage when an agreement was very close,” he said. “Now we are discussing how negotiations can resume. How far we have come from where we once were…” Akinci said that even an agreement to open a single additional crossing point would be considered a step forward. He noted that when Guterres took office nearly a decade ago, Cyprus had been close to a settlement. “Now he will leave behind a Cyprus that is far from a solution, where even the negotiating table cannot be set up,” Akinci said. “He wants to leave office having achieved at least some small steps forward. I hope and wish that his efforts will have a positive outcome.” “After all, even if one or two additional crossing points are opened, it will be a step that makes life easier for Cypriots,” he concluded.