No Progress on Opening of New Crossing Points, Reports Claim

According to Politis, there has been no concrete development in appointing a UN personal envoy, despite recent meetings between Turkish Cypriot Special Representative Güneş Onar and Greek Cypriot Negotiator Menelaos Menelau. The paper noted that following their Thursday meeting, the Greek Cypriot side attempted to convey the message that conditions were being created for progress on issues agreed upon during the informal five-party meeting. However, President Nikos Christodoulides appeared irritated when asked on Friday whether any real progress had been achieved and indicated that concrete statements at the leadership level would be made regarding promises given to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis reiterated on Friday that developments were underway through the meetings between Onar and Menelau. He highlighted progress on issues such as the establishment of a bi-communal youth technical committee, environmental initiatives, cemetery maintenance, and mine clearance. However, the paper pointed out that these are among the lowest-priority issues on the list presented by Guterres and that no tangible progress had been made on the opening of the four new crossing points theoretically agreed upon by both leaders.

Politis further reported that the informal five-party meeting in Geneva on March 17–18 produced no clear outcome regarding the appointment of a new UN envoy who would be responsible for preparing the groundwork for a potential new five-party meeting in July. While Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar had expressed a concrete opinion on the appointment of María Ángela Holguín to the role, the Greek Cypriot side has not provided a clear stance. Instead, they have issued vague statements, suggesting that a permanent envoy should be based in Nicosia for more effective engagement.

Meanwhile, Alithia reported that progress has been made on many of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed to by Christodoulides and Tatar during the Geneva meeting. Citing information from the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the paper stated that a more concrete announcement will likely follow the next meeting between the two leaders. The Greek Cypriot side has reportedly proposed holding this meeting either this week or shortly after the Orthodox Easter holiday and is awaiting a response from the Turkish Cypriot side.

On the other hand, Fileleftheros noted that despite widespread discussion about reappointing Holguín as UN envoy, the United Nations has yet to make an official statement nearly a month after the Geneva meeting. The paper observed that the Greek Cypriot side does not appear overly concerned about the delay and remains optimistic that an announcement will be made soon, attributing the current pause to the Easter period.