Former Greek Cypriot Minister Kostas Themistokleus has launched a sharp critique of Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides in an opinion piece published by the Nicosia-based newspaper Politis. Themistokleus argued that Christodoulides has no real interest in confidence-building measures (CBMs) or substantive negotiations, and is instead content with an ineffective, open-ended dialogue process.
Themistokleus noted that over the past year, TRNC President Tufan Erhürman and Christodoulides have held 13 face-to-face meetings, and that the UN Secretary-General has visited the island. Despite this, Christodoulides had fuelled public expectations a year ago that a solution could be reached by the end of 2026, yet no tangible progress has been made.
The former minister recalled a pattern of similar optimistic rhetoric in the past. Former Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades had claimed that during the Crans Montana talks, a solution even better than the Annan Plan was within reach. His then-negotiator Andreas Mavroyannis said in 2017 that a deal was missed by a hair's breadth, and Christodoulides himself, as government spokesman at the time, stated that a solution was 'very close.' Themistokleus described these repeated assurances as yielding 'zero results in twelve months.'
On the bilateral meetings, Themistokleus alleged that Erhürman arrived at the first encounter well-prepared with four methodological points, while Christodoulides appeared unprepared and uncertain. He also highlighted a factual dispute: Christodoulides now claims to have accepted three of the four points, while the Turkish Cypriot side maintains that the Greek Cypriot side accepted none.
Themistokleus observed that UN Secretary-General António Guterres, his Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin, and spokesman Stephan Dujarric all appear to share Erhürman's reading of the situation, which he said has made UN representatives a 'red flag' once again for the Greek Cypriot side. He added that Guterres's response to Erhürman's recent letter placed responsibility on Christodoulides for the lack of trust and failure to advance the proposed CBMs.
Themistokleus closed by remarking that the last thing Christodoulides would wish for is Holguin's appointment as UN Secretary-General.
