Cyprus leaders agree to open new crossings and plan UN tripartite meeting

On November 9, 2026, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman held a significant meeting in Nicosia, facilitated by UN Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin. The leaders agreed to open two new crossing points: one connecting Louroujina with Lympia and another linking Kampos with Karavostasi. These are the first such additions in approximately eight years and were described as a positive step toward easing inter-communal tensions.

During the meeting, which lasted over three and a half hours, the parties also finalized arrangements for a future tripartite meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, scheduled to take place within the coming weeks. While Christodoulides termed the dialogue productive, political factions in Cyprus, including AKEL, expressed mixed reactions, noting that the progress on crossings fell short of earlier public expectations. Meanwhile, Erhurman indicated that he has submitted a confidential proposal that he believes could serve as a 'gamechanger' for the broader peace process.

The international community and local parties remain focused on whether these confidence-building measures will lead to a substantive resumption of negotiations. While political parties like DISY and DIPA welcomed the outcome, they emphasized that such measures must not serve as a substitute for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, which has remained stalled since 2017.