Nikos Christodoulides is the new President of Cyprus. He is dealing with many difficult situations. His wife, Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, leads a social support program. Donations to this program have increased a lot. However, the President's work with other countries has faced criticism. The leaders in Turkish Cyprus and Turkey have not been very welcoming.
Donations to the social program grew a lot in 2023 and 2024. This is much more than in the past three years. We do not know exactly why this happened. But it started when President Christodoulides took office. Some opposition parties want to know more about how the program works. However, these internal issues are less important than the difficult foreign relations.
President Christodoulides spoke to the European Parliament. He talked about the division of the island. Turkish Cypriot officials strongly disagreed with him. Unal Ustel, a leader, said the President's words were wrong. He said the President did not tell the whole story about the island's split. Ustel said that the events in 1974 were a "legal peace operation." Ziya Ozturkler asked EU leaders to visit Turkish Northern Cyprus. He said they should see the real situation there.
These strong reactions show that there are big differences in how people see the past. It also shows that it is hard to find a solution. The criticism of the President's speech shows a large gap between the two communities. It is difficult to agree on the past. It is even harder to plan for the future together.
President Christodoulides wants to make progress. He might try new ways to solve the problem. He is willing to share his ideas for talks. He will also offer friendly gestures. This is if talks with Tufan Erhurman, the Turkish Cypriot leader, start again. The President wants to make the process move forward. He recently met with Erhurman. He also spoke with UN envoy María Ángela Holguin. Holguin will visit Cyprus next week.
However, Turkey does not seem to want positive changes. The Turkish Foreign Ministry was not happy about President Christodoulides asking Turkish officials to join EU meetings in Cyprus. This refusal from Turkey is important. It shows that Turkey is sticking to its old position. Turkey might not want to join new plans.