The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders will meet this Thursday with a special United Nations representative. This important meeting is a new effort to restart peace talks for Cyprus. The leaders will first visit a laboratory together that works to find people who disappeared during the 1974 conflict. This shared visit is a powerful symbol of peace. After that, they will have a three-way discussion with the UN’s Maria Angela Holguin.
The main goal of these talks is to prepare for a larger, informal peace conference. This bigger conference, which would also include Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, is now planned for early 2026. The President of Cyprus, Nicos Christodoulides, said, "I want to publicly state today that I am ready for this meeting." He hopes this week's talks will create a good foundation for the future conference.
This meeting is a small sign of hope for solving one of Europe's longest-running conflicts. All sides are being careful, but they have promised the UN to work together. The UN representative, Ms. Holguin, will use this meeting to understand if the two sides can find any common ground.
The President also connected the peace talks to wider security in the region. He mentioned that any country outside the European Union that wants to join EU defence projects needs the agreement of all member countries. This statement is seen as a message to Turkey about its role.
While there are many old problems and the situation is complex, these planned meetings offer a little optimism. People around the world will be watching to see if this new dialogue can finally bring progress.