Turkey - Island Talks

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 65: Will negotiations resume in 2026? (Part 2) (23/12/2025)

In the last month of 2025, Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli produced two consecutive and special episodes. Recorded a few days after the first part, the second part focuses on the outcome of the first meeting of leaders with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. What are the positions of sides when it comes to resuming the negotations? Are we going to see new confidence building measures being implemented? How does the international developments impact the talks? Should we expect to see any progress during Cyprus' EU Presidency? What role the international…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 64: What does the election of Tufan Erhürman mean? (Part 1) (9/12/2025)

In the last month of 2025, Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli produced two consecutive and special episodes. The first episode focused on the election of Tufan Erhürman in the first round with 63% vote as well as the internal and external dynamics leading to the replacement of previous Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar. What role the Turkish government played in the Turkish Cypriot elections? How did the voters respond? Does 63% mean Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly endorsed a federal agenda? Will Turkey agree to the resumption of talks? How is Erhürman being regarded in the Greek Cypriot…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 61: The Divided Island – “The generational trauma is real and profound” (16/7/2025)

On the 51st anniversary of 1974 events, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli host Cey Sesigüzel and Andreas Tokkallos, co-producers of "The Divided Island" documentary at Nicosia Uncut podcast. These two British-Cypriot filmmakers of Two Fresh Productions are hailing from both communities and they featured real stories of Cypriots from various generations. The work is a striking contrast to the official narratives and propaganda of sides and provides humanitarian stories from the past in the first part, and a vision for the future in the second. The documentary that won the Best Documentary Feature at South London Film Festival, features James Ker-Lindsay, Andrekos Varnava, Sylvia Zacharia, Yaşar Ismailoǧlu, Tom Fortis-Mayer, Christina Pavlou, Suleyman Camgoz, Nick Yiannoullou, Sevgül Uludaǧ, Serife Gül, Ipek Özerim, and Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli. It can be watched at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thedividedisland

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 60: Special guest Nilgün Arısan Eralp – Will Turkey and Greece finally solve their differences ? (10/7/2025)

Read more about the article Nicosia Uncut – Episode 60: Special guest Nilgün Arısan Eralp – Will Turkey and Greece finally solve their differences ? (10/7/2025)

In this epsiode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı host Nilgün Arısan Eralp, Director of European Union Institute of TEPAV, a leading policy and research centre in Türkiye. Latest state of affairs in Turkish-Greek political dialogue; how will this affect the Cyprus problem? Is it possible to talk about repositioning of the EU towards Turkey? Should we expect Turkey to play an upgraded role in a possible new defence architecture in Europe? Is the EU turning a blind eye to the democratic backsliding in Turkey? What is Turkey's vision towards Cyprus? Is Israel against a power-sharing mechanism in Cyprus? What should we expect from the upcoming Turkish Cypriot elections?

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 58: Cyprus problem in Geneva again: What should we expect? (22/2/2025)

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli host Fiona Mullen, Director of Sapienta Economics. A 5 party conference on Cyprus is scheduled to take place on 17/18 March 2025 at the UN in Geneva. Apart from the two Cypriot sides, the Guarantor powers, Turkey, Greece and the UK will be represented. What should we expect from this meeting? What are the local, regional and international dynamics leading to this meeting. What is the UN's roadmap? What about the EU? How will the Greco-Turkish relations affect the talks? Is the Cypriot political elite ready for a…

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…

Figure It – Episode 11 (Energy Series 2): East Med Energy and the Cyprus problem: why it is in the EU’s strategic security interests to get involved (8/2/2024)

Read more about the article Figure It – Episode 11 (Energy Series 2): East Med Energy and the Cyprus problem: why it is in the EU’s strategic security interests to get involved (8/2/2024)

In this 11th episode of Figure It and the second in a series of episodes devoted to energy, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks to Ahmet Sözen, a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) and a veritable ‘ideas factory’ when it comes to new approaches to the Cyprus problem. Prof Sözen is also part of the Eastern Mediterranean Initiative of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and has recently produced papers with Diplomeds on Eastern Mediterranean energy issues. In this episode we discuss the proposals put forward in these papers, such “engagement without recognition”…

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…