Cyprus leaders agree on confidence-building measures and upcoming UN meeting

On November 9, 2026, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman met under the auspices of UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin to advance confidence-building measures (CBMs). During this four-hour meeting, the leaders agreed to simultaneously open two new border crossing points at Louroujina-Lympia and Kampos-Karavostasi. Additionally, they committed to exchanging archival materials through the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, launching environmental projects, restarting the "Imagine" educational program, and establishing a crisis response mechanism.

Following the meeting, it was announced that a trilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be held in the coming weeks. President Christodoulides stated that he provided a written copy of 19 proposals to facilitate these discussions, aiming to eventually secure a broader meeting that could lead to the resumption of formal negotiations for a comprehensive settlement. While political parties like the Democratic Rally (DISY) welcomed the progress, they cautioned that CBMs cannot replace substantive negotiations. Conversely, the AKEL party noted that the agreement regarding the number of checkpoints was lower than public expectations, emphasizing that the focus must remain on resuming the process from the 2017 impasse.