Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said Friday that the Turkish Cypriot side rejected an effort to bring the island’s two leaders together with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York, dealing a setback to the latest attempt to revive negotiations over the divided island.
Speaking to Cypriot Americans in New York on September 25, Christodoulides said he had presented Guterres with new proposals that could help clear the way for the resumption of formal negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
“Unfortunately, the Turkish side responded negatively,” Christodoulides said, referring to the prospect of a trilateral meeting.
The president made the remarks at the 2026 Testimonial Dinner of the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations (FCAO), where three members of the diaspora were honored for their professional achievements and service to Cyprus and the Cypriot American community.
His comments came a day after meeting Guterres at UN headquarters in New York, where Cyprus has been a major focus of Christodoulides’ diplomacy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Guterres had considered bringing Cyprus leaders together
Following Thursday’s meeting, Christodoulides said Guterres was considering convening a meeting with him and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman before they left New York.
The Cyprus Presidency said Christodoulides presented new ideas dealing with the substance of the Cyprus problem, negotiating methodology and confidence-building measures. According to Christodoulides, they were received favorably by the UN chief.
Reports on Friday said Erhürman did not agree to the proposed three-way meeting. He was scheduled to hold his own meeting with Guterres on Saturday.
Erhürman had signaled before traveling to New York that he did not believe conditions had been established for a new expanded meeting on Cyprus. He has argued that tangible progress between the two communities should precede another expanded process and has called for future talks to be structured to produce concrete results.
Christodoulides presented the failure to hold the meeting differently, arguing before the Cypriot American audience that refusing even an exploratory meeting weakened the other side’s position.
The president also said Guterres had assured him that he would continue working until the end of his term to achieve concrete progress toward restarting negotiations.
“We believe in him,” Christodoulides said, reiterating that the Republic of Cyprus would respond positively to the UN chief’s efforts.
Christodoulides says Cyprus settlement framework will remain
Christodoulides also sought to address what happens to the Cyprus peace process after Guterres leaves office.
He said that during talks with representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia — he received a clear message that neither the established basis for a Cyprus settlement nor the framework and understandings established in previous negotiations would disappear with a change of UN secretary-general.
“My message to those who choose a negative approach, hoping to move away from these with the end of the secretary-general’s term, is that this will under no circumstances happen,” Christodoulides told the gathering, saying this position had been clearly expressed by the five permanent members.
The remarks were directed at one of the fundamental disputes surrounding efforts to restart formal Cyprus negotiations.
The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus supports the resumption of negotiations within the framework established by UN Security Council resolutions. Christodoulides told the diaspora that reunification remained his government’s priority and said Cyprus would not accept the island’s continuing division as permanent.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 following Turkey’s invasion. The Republic of Cyprus controls the island’s south, while the breakaway self-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” recognized only by Turkey, controls the north.
Formal negotiations have remained stalled since the collapse of talks at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017.
“We will never come to terms with the occupation”
Addressing an audience with deep personal and family connections to the events of 1974, Christodoulides adopted some of his strongest language of the evening when discussing the island’s division.
“Fifty-two years after the Turkish invasion, the occupation, division, displacement and violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms continue in our European homeland,” he said.
“No matter how many years pass, we will not come to terms, and we will never come to terms, with the occupation,” the president said.
He said his objective remained the reunification of Cyprus on the basis of the agreed framework, relevant UN Security Council resolutions, international law and the principles and laws of the European Union.
The issue had particular resonance at Friday’s event because two of the three Cypriot Americans honored during the evening were displaced from their homes following the events of 1974.
Three Cypriot Americans honored in New York
The Federation of Cypriot American Organizations honored John Josephakis, Stavros Kamilaris and Despina Axiotakis at its annual Testimonial Dinner at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Josephakis, NVIDIA’s global vice president of sales and business development for HPC and supercomputing, received the federation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, Josephakis left his home with his family following the events of 1974 before eventually building a career in the United States.
Christodoulides said he met Josephakis in Houston during a 2025 US visit focused on attracting investment to Cyprus and praised him for helping develop connections between the country and NVIDIA.
“Today, NVIDIA, a huge company, is investing in Cyprus,” Christodoulides said, describing the relationship as “a tremendous vote of confidence” and linking it to Cyprus’ efforts to develop infrastructure and skills for the age of artificial intelligence.
Stavros Kamilaris and Despina Axiotakis received Community Service Awards.
Kamilaris, whose family comes from Agios Georgios in the Kyrenia district, also arrived in the United States as a refugee after 1974. Christodoulides, who said he first met Kamilaris after coming to New York as a student in 1993, praised his more than two decades of work with the Lampousa Cypriot American Association.
Axiotakis was honored for decades of work within the Cypriot American community, including 27 years in the leadership of the Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce and her efforts to strengthen economic and business ties between Cyprus and the United States.
“You are truly worthy ambassadors of Cyprus,” Christodoulides told the three honorees.
Christodoulides credits diaspora with strengthening US ties
The president used the evening to make a broader appeal to Cypriot Americans, describing the organized diaspora as one of Cyprus’ most important voices in the United States.
Christodoulides recalled arriving in New York as a student in 1993 and becoming acquainted with the community more than three decades ago.
“The first people who believed in our relations with the United States were you,” he told the audience.
He said younger Cypriot Americans were increasingly taking active roles in community organizations while establishing careers in technology, academia, business, politics and other fields.
Maintaining that connection across generations, he said, was one of the most important investments the community could make.
“Cypriot origin is not simply a reference to the past,” Christodoulides said. “It is a living relationship with the Cyprus of today and tomorrow.”
The president also pointed to expanding strategic relations between Cyprus and the United States, saying there was considerable room for further cooperation. He cited efforts toward visa-free travel and direct air connectivity between the two countries and said he planned to return to the United States before the end of the year to promote Cyprus as a business and investment destination.
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