AKEL General Secretary criticizes leadership over Cyprus negotiations

On November 13, 2026, AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou addressed an anti-occupation event at the Orfeas checkpoint in Nicosia, marking the anniversary of the illegal declaration of the breakaway state. During his speech, Stefanou expressed hope that a planned trilateral meeting initiated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would lead to the convening of an informal five-party meeting aimed at resuming negotiations on the Cyprus issue.

Stefanou directed sharp criticism at the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman. He argued that both leaders failed to utilize existing opportunities to restart talks from where they broke off in 2017 at Crans-Montana. According to Stefanou, the leaders focused exclusively on confidence-building measures rather than achieving substantive progress, effectively proving unable to manage the current phase of the Cyprus issue.

Despite the long-standing stalemate and Turkey's insistence on a two-state solution, Stefanou maintained that a resolution remains possible by leveraging the existing negotiations acquis and convergences achieved since 2008. He emphasized that over nine years have passed without meaningful discussion, noting that even efforts to open new crossing points have underperformed expectations. The proposed trilateral meeting remains the primary focus for potential future progress in resuming formal dialogue.