President: more Cyprus problem developments coming in days ahead

Politics Cyprus problemeuTop Newsturkey President: more Cyprus problem developments coming in days ahead Christodoulides 1974 Coup Memorial Relevant News President: more Cyprus problem developments coming in days ahead 15 July 2026 Lifeguard vacancies hit 84 as coverage criteria revealed 15 July 2026 Family: coup forces killed boy, grandmother in 1974 15 July 2026 newsroom 15 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday denied a report in the Independent that the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy, María Ángela Holguín, is preparing a Cyprus settlement plan diverging from previous efforts, one the newspaper described as a looser federal solution closer to Turkish Cypriot demands for two separate states. “None of what it describes exists,” Christodoulides said, adding that more news would emerge in the coming days showing momentum on the Cyprus problem. What the Independent reported According to the report, the plan would create two constituent states with political equality and sharply reduced shared competences, most governance left to the two sides, a rotating presidential council weighted two-to-one or three-to-one in favour of the Greek Cypriot side, and a small joint cabinet covering areas including foreign affairs, defence and finance. In exchange for recognition and autonomy, the report said, the “TRNC” would be expected to cede territory, including Varosha. The newspaper referred to the 1974 Turkish military invasion, which followed a coup attempting to unite the island with Greece, as an “intervention,” and described Holguín as working towards a deal with the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”), arguing Turkish Cypriots have not been treated as equals under the terms agreed at independence in 1960. The Independent also linked the timing of the reported plan to the strategic importance of Britain’s sovereign bases on the island for the Middle East. Cyprus’s deputy high commissioner in London, Spyros Miltiades, was quoted by the Independent as saying there had been “no formal UN proposal that either side has been asked to respond to,” and that the ideas in circulation were speculative rather than a concrete plan. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, in a Facebook statement cited by the Independent, said Turkish Cypriots’ “will for a solution is clear,” but said no formal plan existed, only ideas shared with political parties, trade unions and other bodies. Holguín herself, in a July 1 statement quoted by the newspaper, said she was “convinced that Cypriots can cooperate” on a shared vision for future generations. Memorial remarks Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a memorial service for those killed during the 1974 coup, held at the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, Christodoulides said: “We are here to condemn the treacherous coup, for which there is absolutely no justification. We are here to honour all those who sacrificed themselves so that democracy would exist in this place, so that the Republic of Cyprus would exist. Our gratitude is eternal.” He said the coup had been used by Turkey as a pretext to pursue long-standing goals set even before the Republic of Cyprus was founded, and that his government was working “from day one” to reverse those goals through a functional and viable settlement that would reunify the Republic of Cyprus in practice, while it remained an EU member state after any settlement. EU envoy appointment Christodoulides said he had come from Paris, where he held what he called an excellent meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had announced Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto as her Special Representative for the Cyprus problem the previous day. “There are several developments. In the coming days we will hear more news that will demonstrate this momentum,” he said, adding that the goal was to relaunch negotiations from where they were interrupted, for a settlement fully compatible with the principles, values and law of the European Union. Asked whether a date had been set for an expanded conference, the president said announcements would come from “those who are the protagonists,” adding that his government had pursued a specific plan since the start and would continue working towards a settlement based on the same EU-compatibility terms. He said he was pleased to see EU interest in playing a leading role for the first time, noting there had been no prospect of resuming talks when his government took office. Asked whether the timing of the Fitto appointment signalled that developments were imminent, Christodoulides said he had said previously that “we will have a summer in which we will all be on alert,” adding that the timing of von der Leyen’s announcement was “certainly not a coincidence.” Meeting with Turkish foreign minister Asked about photographs from Paris appearing to show him in conversation with Turkey’s foreign minister, Christodoulides said: “Yes, we had a very brief exchange of views, it wasn’t negotiations, prompted by the developments, actions and moves by the UN Secretary-General and the European Union.” Responding to a follow-up noting that Turkish media had denied any discussion took place, he said: “I said there were no negotiations, there was a discussion. You can see it in the video. I didn’t imagine the discussion, or the photograph. It isn’t an AI product.” Asked whether his meeting with von der Leyen, who also held talks in Ankara with the Turkish president and foreign minister, made him more optimistic about Turkey’s approach, Christodoulides said Turkey’s approach would become clear at the negotiating table regardless of what he said. He said he took two points from his meeting with von der Leyen the day before: first, that any settlement must be fully compatible with the principles, values and law of the European Union, language he said the Commission president had also used with her interlocutors in Turkey and with the UN Secretary-General; and second, that any positive developments in EU-Turkey relations depended on substantive, concrete positive developments on the Cyprus problem. Asked whether the EU would take a more active role in a potential expanded conference, including a seat at the negotiating table, Christodoulides said the EU “cannot be absent” from a process concerning decisions of the EU and its member states, given Turkey’s own stated wish for positive developments in EU-Turkey relations. Occupied north criticism Asked to comment on criticism from the “foreign ministry” in the occupied north over the EU’s decision to appoint a special representative for the Cyprus problem, Christodoulides said he had not expected a different public approach, but that what mattered was the outcome, which he described as an upgraded appointment given that it involved the Commission’s Executive Vice-President. 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