Philenews

Cyprus: Political Leadership Persists with Bizonality, Critics Say

Published February 9, 2026, 17:21
Cyprus: Political Leadership Persists with Bizonality, Critics Say

A two-day conference was held at the University of Nicosia on the Cyprus issue and the role of the European legal and political acquis. Participants highlighted the flaws of the Annan Plan and the persistence of the Cypriot political leadership with a bi-zonal solution. The need for Cyprus to demand the implementation of the Community acquis throughout the territory and to insist on international legality was emphasized. However, the political leadership, led by President Christodoulides, appears to be downgrading the Cyprus issue to matters of roadblocks and MOEs, instead of pursuing a substantial solution. Criticism focuses on the political leadership's refusal to definitively reject the Annan Plan, despite the Cypriot people's decision to reject it in a referendum. An opportunity for a new approach was lost in 2004, when then-President Tassos Papadopoulos preferred to maintain the status quo instead of proposing a new basis for negotiations.