If we’re talking CBMs, let’s talk properly

Opinion Antonio GuterresCyprus problemNikos Christodoulidespolitics If we’re talking CBMs, let’s talk properly Triths Moe 1536x829 Relevant News State unveils new support options for adults with disabilities 4 August 2026 Turkish provocations amid diplomatic process 4 August 2026 If we’re talking CBMs, let’s talk properly 4 August 2026 Aristos Michaelides 4 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Is there some reason the President and his spokespeople keep hammering home that confidence-building measures (CBMs) aren’t a precondition for convening the five-party conference? The President said it himself straight after Guterres’s press conference (“if we have CBMs, that’s certainly a positive development, but it’s not a precondition for convening the meeting”). Then “government sources” were saying it via CNA. Then the government spokespeople took up the line. Yesterday Victoras Papadopoulos was saying it again after the National Council. They’ve said it so many times now that you have to wonder why they’re so desperate to convince us CBMs aren’t a precondition. Confusion, even at the preparation stage? Because as recently as yesterday, Erhurman was writing on Facebook that Guterres had secured everyone’s approval for the five-party meeting “provided there is adequate preparation on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues.” Guterres’s own statement before leaving Cyprus was that he had decided to convene a new meeting in five-plus-one format, or “5+1” as it’s now being called, “following adequate preparation on confidence-building, methodology and substance.” Pressed on it afterwards, he repeated himself: “I have the consent of both sides, as well as the guarantor powers, to proceed with a 5+1 meeting, but with the right preparation. Preparation on confidence-building measures, preparation on methodology, and preparation on substance.” Anyone reading that can see exactly what it means. Preparation, and CBMs specifically, is a precondition for convening the five-party talks. That’s how the Secretary-General framed it himself. Whether CBMs means the barricades or something else, he didn’t say. Even though a deal on new barricades is supposedly the top priority. Either way, going by what Guterres actually said, his focus remains squarely on CBMs. And once again, the occupation itself gets reframed as a matter of “confidence-building” between the two communities. Ankara approved of that framing too. Small surprise there. The same day as Guterres’s statements, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that “emphasis must be placed on progress in specific areas of cooperation,” because that “can contribute to building confidence between the two communities.” In short: whatever the President and his people say about whether CBMs are a precondition or not, the fact remains that at this stage, as at the last one, it’s the Turkish side, Guterres, and of course his envoy Holguín, who are actually driving the CBM agenda. And since our side is playing on a pitch someone else has marked out, the least it could do is talk about real CBMs, instead of only discussing the ones that happen to suit Turkish policy and manufacture the conditions for “good neighbourly relations.” Rather than trying to convince us CBMs aren’t a precondition, for instance, he could talk about the single most consequential CBM of them all, the one that’s been sitting in Security Council resolutions for decades: handing Varosha over to UN administration. And since our leaders are so fond of invoking the Makarios-Denktash and Kyprianou-Denktash summit agreements whenever it suits them to defend a bizonal, bicommunal federation, they might as well remember something else and put it front and centre for once. The Kyprianou-Denktash agreement of 1979 states plainly: “It was agreed to resume intercommunal talks on 15 June 1979. Priority will be given to reaching agreement on the resettlement of Varosha under United Nations auspices (…). Once agreement on Varosha is reached, it will be implemented without waiting for the outcome of talks on other aspects of the Cyprus problem.” So why are CBMs only ever the barricades? If they want preparation and confidence-building before the five-party meeting, let the preparation be “resettlement of Varosha under United Nations auspices,” exactly as agreed, and exactly as the Security Council demanded. Now that would be a step forward. A leap, even. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News State unveils new support options for adults with disabilities Turkish provocations amid diplomatic process Kato Deryneia: a personal matter Overnight pharmacies on Tuesday, August 4 New “Raptors for LIFE” project to protect Cyprus’s three key birds of prey Wildfires ease in Greece as people return to gutted homes Cyprus Institute builds island’s first tree-level carbon inventory Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.