Cyprus

[…] During the reporting period, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides maintained their divergent positions regarding the way forward on the Cyprus issue. While the leaders came together twice during the reporting period, they did not engage in substantive discussions, and public confidence in the prospects for a possible peace process remained low.

New friendship declaration signed in Athens suggests both countries - bitter foes in the past – have opted for dialogue at a time of acute geopolitical turbulence.

Greece and Turkey are at odds over territorial claims in the Aegean Sea, energy exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean and ethnically split Cyprus, among other issues.

The UN chief has condemned an assault on Friday by Turkish Cypriot security forces against ‘blue helmets’ serving with the peacekeeping force on the divided Mediterranean island. Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement that several members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) had been injured while UN vehicles had also been damaged inside the buffer zone that divides the Turkish Cypriot north and Greek Cypriot south.

[…] Incidents, often minor and localized, from both sides, continued to escalate to the political level, further fuelling the divisive rhetoric and in turn hampering efforts towards a resumption of dialogue. The mission and its leadership were frequently caught between opposing narratives and a lack of political will to prevent tensions on the ground from escalating.

Cyprus and Turkey have traded harsh words on their frozen conflict, in a sign recent elections on both sides changed little. The "open wound" of Turkey's 50-year old occupation of northern Cyprus formed the centrepiece of Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides' speech at the European Parliament on Tuesday (13 June).

Greek and Turkish Cypriots have moved farther apart since a failed summit in 2017, hampering cooperation in several important matters and increasing tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. Hopes for reunifying Cyprus are faint at present, but the parties can still work toward more modest goals.

Mandate of UNFICYP extended

[…] The political climate between the two sides was marked by a significant hardening of positions and increase in unhelpful rhetoric, against the backdrop of election campaigning and a decrease in public confidence in the possibility of the sides finding common ground on a way forward regarding the settlement talks.

Turkish President says Ankara will reinforce the 40,000 troops already present on the island with land, naval and aerial weapons, ammunition and vehicles after after the US lifted defence trade restrictions on Cyprus.