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UN Secretary-General: Four of six Cyprus confidence-building initiatives completed; crossings and solar talks continue
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Summary
The Secretary-General said four of six confidence-building initiatives between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have been completed, while talks continue on opening four crossing points and a solar-energy plan in the buffer zone.
The Secretary-General said Thursday that Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have completed four of six confidence-building initiatives agreed in March and that negotiations will continue on opening crossing points and on a solar-energy proposal for the U.N. buffer zone.
The initiative update was delivered at a United Nations press event convened to advance “constructive dialogue” between the two sides. The Secretary-General said the four completed items include the creation of a technical committee on youth, initiatives on environment and climate change addressing impacts on mining areas, and restoration of cemeteries; he said a mining-related item (described in the transcript as “grama on the mining”) will be closed once final technical details are settled.
“These initiatives have the potential to have a real and significant positive impact on people’s lives across the islands,” the Secretary-General said. “They are not merely symbolic gestures, but issues that require cooperation.”
He said discussions will continue on the two outstanding items: the opening of four crossing points and a solar-energy initiative in the buffer zone. Regarding the crossings, he said the parties have “reached an agreement on the crossing points themselves” but that an itinerary for one of them remains under discussion. “There was important progress in this regard,” he added, while noting technical language in the draft still needs work.
In addition to crossings and solar energy, the Secretary-General reported a common understanding had been reached on a consultative body for civil-society engagement, exchange of cultural artifacts, an air-quality monitoring initiative and measures to address microplastic pollution. He said he would meet jointly with the two leaders during U.N. high-level week and that another informal meeting in the same format is planned later this year.
The Secretary-General framed the process as gradual and complex, saying the parties were “building step by step, confidence and creating the conditions to do concrete things to the benefit of the Cypriot people,” but cautioned there is “a long road ahead.”
No formal decision, vote or binding agreement was announced at the press event; the Secretary-General described the outcome as progress in ongoing talks and said technical details remain to be finalized.
