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5h ago

Cypriot Leaders Back Confidence-Building Measures Despite Buffer Zone Road Dispute

UN-led talks in New York yielded a pledge to extend checkpoint openings with renewable energy schemes despite unresolved buffer zone road routing

People gather at a bench near a "Peace" sign next to the main Ledra crossing point in central divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A woman walks across the U.N buffer zone in front of a blocked road as a banner shows the Cyprus island divided, the Turkish occupied area at the north and Cyprus republic at the south, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
A man walks in front of a blocked road across the U.N buffer zone as a cat sits next of a banner shows the Cyprus island divided, the Turkish occupied area at the north and Cyprus republic at the south, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
People walk next to a Cypriot flag painted on a wall in Nicosia, Cyprus July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Overview

  • U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described meetings between President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar as constructive.
  • The two sides committed to pressing ahead with measures agreed in March, including four new crossing points, demining, a youth affairs committee and environmental and solar energy projects.
  • Tatar said a Greek Cypriot proposal to build a road through the U.N. buffer zone to reach one crossing was unacceptable and blocked the announcement of four additional gates.
  • Disagreements over the buffer zone itinerary and road construction continue to be the main obstacle to implementing the agreed initiatives.
  • Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to reconvene with Guterres during the U.N. General Assembly in September to address remaining issues.