Cyprus leaders agree to open two new crossings

Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman agreed on November 9 to open two new vehicle crossings across the United Nations-controlled buffer zone that divides Cyprus. The crossings are to open simultaneously, but the leaders did not set a date for their launch.

The agreement followed a meeting between the leaders and Maria Angela Holguin, the United Nations envoy for Cyprus, in the buffer zone. The United Nations described the meeting as positive. The two new routes would add to the nine crossings currently operating along the dividing line, bringing the total to 11 once they open.

The proposal is part of efforts to build confidence between the two sides and support a possible return to formal peace negotiations. The crossing agreement does not itself mean negotiations have resumed. Christodoulides said the meeting’s results could have been better, while adding that real progress had been made.

The leaders are expected to meet again in the coming weeks in the presence of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Christodoulides said his goal was to resume talks before Guterres’s term ends at the end of the year. The timing...