Nicosia Uncut - Island Talks

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 57: InPeace project elaborates on the bicommunal technical committees in Cyprus (20/1/2025)

In this first Nicosia Uncut episode of 2025, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli host Dr.Nasia Hadjigeorgiou and Fezile Osum to discuss the bicommunal technical committees that have been established within the framework of Cyprus problem. Both Fezile and Nasia are running the EU funded InPeace Project (Inclusive Peacebuilding: The Technical Committees in Cyprus ) that studies the technical committees. In 2008, six bicommunal Technical Committees were established by the Greek Cypriot (GC) and Turkish Cypriot (TC) community leaders to ‘address issues that affect the day-to-day life of people, through encouraging and facilitating greater interaction and understanding between the two communities’; …

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 56: Multiparty meeting: each side sees it differently (18/11/2024)

Following Guterres' dinner with the Cypriot leaders in New York, an agreement has been reached to continue informal meetings with the participation of the Guarantor powers. The participation of the UK might not be at the same level as the other two, as the official position of the Turkish/Turkish Cypriot side has been for the four-party meeting rather than five. The sides have also committed to work on opening new crossing points. So the upcoming multi-party meeting is being regarded differently by the sides. While the Greek/Greek Cypriot side declares that they are interested in resuming talks on bi-communal,…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 55: A dinner, but hardly a date (7/10/2024)

The two Cypriot leaders have agreed to meet for a "social dinner" at the presence of the UN Secretary General. The expectations are low as sides have shown no signs of departure from their respective positions. While the Turkish Cypriot side is adamant on their so called "two states" position, which is vocally and openly supported by the Turkish government, the Greek Cypriot side has been consistent expressing their commirment to a bicommunal, bizonal federation as stipulated by the numerous UN resoutions. The negative developments in the Middle East is regarded as a distracting factor for the attempts to…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 54: July is the month of Cyprob (1/7/2024)

After a short break, Nicosia Uncut is back with Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discussing the recent attempts of UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin with the Cypriot leaders. There isn't a lot of hope for a breakthrough for ther resumption of talks but are we going to see any result at all? A confidence building measure maybe? In the meantime, the UN bureaucracts and diplomats involved in the Cyprus problem are busy putting the last marks on the UN Secretary General's reports, for good offices and the UNFICYP, to the Security Council. Regional politics, NATO prospects for Cyprus, EU…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 53: Special guest Fiona Mullen: How can we revitalize the solution process ? (6/3/2023)

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut; Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli host Fiona Mullen, Director of Sapienta Economics and the producer of Figure It podcast. Fiona has been studying, advising and in the past working on the Cyprus settlement process for more than two decades now. In this episode, they discuss what needs to be done to revitalize the Cyprus peace process, the challenges of new envoy Maria Holguin Cuellar is facing and why the international community needs to get involved to support the process. Fiona suggests that existing structures and parameters of the process have certain challenges which…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 52: Million dollar question: What is Holguin’s endgame? (1/2/2024)

UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy on Cyprus Maria Angela Holguín Cuéllar has arrived on the island and started her work by paying a visit to the Cypriot leaders. This new initiative to revive the talks, which collapsed in Crans Montana conference in 2017, is defined as an attempt to find a "common ground" for the formal talks to start. In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli question the endgame of this new initiative as there is no sign for the sides to shift their diametrically opposed positions. Supported by Turkey, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 51: Is there light at the end of the tunnel? (10/12/2023)

Turkish-Greek reapproachment, appointment of a new envoy for Cyprus talks, ongoing failure of the international community to address burning issues in the world and establishment of a new political party in Cyprus. In this last episode of the year, Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli look back to 2023 with a critical eye. The year is ending with new developments, so they can't help but ask if there is light at the end of the tunnel for Cyprus.

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 50: Frozen! (14/11/2023)

Is Cyprus a "frozen" conflict? What are the risk of it getting melted? As the so called frozen and fluid conflicts turning into active conflicts everywhere in the world, shouldn't Cypriots be worried? What are the lessons the Cypriots and the international community take from the ongoing conflics in Ukraine, Nogorno Karabakh and Israel/Palestine? In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discuss the lessons we should be getting from the latest crisis in Israel/Palestine; the failure of collective security mechanisms of international community and the erosion of international principles with the recent developments. What can…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 49: Status-quo in Cyprus is an illusion (21/8/2023)

The UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus has been attacked by the Turkish Cypriot police in the buffer zone close to Pyla village during an ongoing work of fixing a road to connect the bicommunal village to the Turkish Cypriot controlled areas. While the Turkish & Turkish Cypriot side citing humanitarian reasons, the international community as well as the permanent members of the Security Councils, barring Russia, condemned the attack. In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı discuss the developments and underline that there is no-such thing as status-quo without a settlement. Against the background, the…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 48: Drowning in elections – CyProb anyone? (31/5/2023)

We are drowned in elections. Elections in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Do we have any time or window of opportunity to discuss politics - Cyprus problem in particular? In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı evaluate the results of elections in Turkey and Greece as well as the upcoming by-elections in the north. CBMs, local politics, and DISY's and AKEL's initiatives in the Cyprob.