EU will ‘never accept’ two states on Cyprus

NICOSIA: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday Brussels would "never accept" the two-state solution for Cyprus that Turkey advocates as a condition for United Nations-backed peace talks to resume.

"I want to repeat that we will never, ever, accept a two-state solution, we are firm on that and very united, and this is what Cyprus can expect," von der Leyen told reporters on a visit to the east Mediterranean island.

"The most precious part is unity in the EU, and the knowledge that all 26 member states at the European level are standing by your side," she said, speaking alongside President Nicos Anastasiades.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey occupied the northern third in response to a coup orchestrated by an Athens-backed junta seeking to annex the island to Greece. The Turkish-held north declared independence in 1983, but is recognised only by Ankara. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004.

In April, a UN summit in Geneva failed to broker a deal between Cypriot leaders to resume talks stalled since 2017. Cyprus remains one of the major bones of contention between the EU and Ankara, after a push for two states from Turkish Cypriot leaders backed by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped torpedo the April effort.

The UN is trying to mediate a deal for the island, nearly six decades since it deployed peacekeepers there. Greek Cypriots say the stumbling block is the insistence by the Turkish side for Cyprus to become two separate states, while Nicosia backs reunification based on a federal model.

Von der Leyen said on Thursday that a recent summit of EU leaders sent a "very clear message" to Erdogan. "I want our neighbours (Turkey) to know that if they speak to one of our member states, like, for example, Cyprus, in whatever tone, they speak to the EU," she said.