Northern Cyprus: Perhaps peace this time needs a form we don't yet know.

Samira Sinjab
Jul 6
5 min read

Sometimes you sense that something is moving before you can say where.

This is what the Cyprus question feels like these days.

Nothing is decided yet. There is no signed plan, no new constitution, no official promise that this old wound of the island will finally heal. And yet, there is something in the air that sounds different from the usual political noise.

UN envoy María Angela Holguín is back in action. According to the Cyprus Mail, both sides have already held separate preparatory talks with UN representatives before her expected return to Cyprus; Holguín is then scheduled to hold talks in Brussels. The Cyprus Mail also reports that, following her contacts with Cyprus, Athens, Ankara, New York, and Brussels, an expanded meeting involving both Cypriot sides, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations could be prepared.

That alone would be remarkable.

But more than that is coming together.

Following a meeting in Ankara, Turkey and the EU explicitly declared their support for the UN Secretary-General's efforts regarding the Cyprus issue. The same statement also addressed security, migration, trade, energy, the customs union, and cooperation with NATO. The Turkish Foreign Ministry published the joint statement on June 30, 2026.

And now the region's eyes are on Ankara, where the NATO summit will take place on July 7 and 8. Cyprus will likely not be a central topic of discussion. But sometimes the most important discussions aren't those listed in the program. The Cyprus Mail suggests that security guarantees for a potential new Cyprus could also play a role in the context of this summit: possibly with NATO involvement, possibly with the participation of several countries, perhaps with a security architecture that differs from anything that has seemed seriously conceivable until now.

That's precisely where the interesting thought experiment begins.

Perhaps a solution will not come as a repetition of the old formulas.

Perhaps it won't simply be the federation as it has existed on paper for decades. Perhaps it won't be the rigid two-state logic, which is hardly compatible with international standards and, on the other hand, stirs deep anxieties. Perhaps something third is emerging: a construct that combines political equality, international legality, security, property, everyday life, and regional interests in such a new way that neither side has to feel like it is giving up on itself.

This is not a prediction.

It is a cautious reflection on a moment in which a strikingly large number of actors are in motion simultaneously.

António Guterres also plays a special role in this. His second term as UN Secretary-General runs until December 31, 2026; the process for his succession is already underway. This doesn't mean that he can or wants to resolve Cyprus quickly. But it does mean that if Guterres wants to make a visible diplomatic effort in this long-standing, difficult conflict, the window of opportunity is not unlimited. The Cyprus issue has been an open matter for the United Nations for decades. Perhaps that is precisely why there is such a strong desire to leave behind at least a genuine new process.

And yet it would be wrong to look only at presidents, foreign ministers, secretaries-general and summits.

Because Cyprus is not just a question of power. Cyprus is a question of people.

Anyone who knows the island knows that beneath the political rhetoric lies another reality. A softer one. A more painful one. One that doesn't begin in negotiation protocols, but in kitchens, courtyards, villages, songs, and memories.

There are Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots who experienced the separation not as a solution, but as a loss. People who lost neighbors. Friends. Homes. Places. A shared everyday language. On Instagram, the account Love Our Cyprus collects such moments of reunion and longing for peace. This is not an official source and not political proof. But it is a human message.

That's exactly what we felt time and again in "North Cyprus in a nutshell".

Sabri from Bellapais spoke of times when Turkish and Greek Cypriots celebrated together. Greek festivals. Turkish, Ottoman-influenced festivals. Food, music, neighborliness, respect. Not as a romantic assertion that everything was better in the past. But as a reminder that coexistence on this island doesn't have to be invented. It has traces. It has smells. Voices. Paths. Names.

Perhaps this is the most important thought of these days: peace in Cyprus wouldn't have to start from scratch. It would have to rediscover something that has long been buried.

Of course, there are opposing forces. Mistrust, political camps, old grievances, interests from Ankara, Athens, Nicosia, Brussels, London, Washington, and beyond. And of course, there are the tough questions: property, security, guarantees, troops, recognition, the international legal order.

The property issue alone demonstrates the depth of the conflict. According to the Cyprus Mail, Tufan Erhürman stated that the problem affects not only Greek Cypriots but also Turkish Cypriots; it cannot be resolved through individual lawsuits against individuals, but requires a comprehensive political solution. On the other hand, representatives of the Republic of Cyprus continue to emphasize that division is not a solution. Both positions must be taken seriously.

But perhaps that's precisely why space is created for something new.

Because the old divisions are so deep that the old language of solutions no longer works. Perhaps this time a solution is needed that lies outside the realm of experience of recent decades. A solution that doesn't just ask: Who wins? Who loses? But rather: What can security for both communities look like? How can political equality be lived? How can property, compensation, return, and current homes be considered in such a way that people don't once again become mere pawns on a chessboard?

Perhaps an international security structure will play a role. Perhaps even one closely aligned with NATO, but not necessarily in the way one might imagine a classic NATO membership. Perhaps with guarantees, troops from various countries, new control mechanisms, EU integration, a UN framework, and a special role for Turkey, Greece, and Great Britain. This is currently just speculation, not confirmed news. But it is interesting because the discussions about security, Europe, Turkey, and Cyprus are currently remarkably closely intertwined.

And perhaps the people are more progressive than some politicians believe.

Not everyone. Never everyone. But enough people on both sides know the cost of separation. Enough people may not want the same political formula, but they do want the same human goal: peace. Dignity. Freedom of movement. Security. A home that isn't pitted against someone else's.

That's what makes these days so exciting.

Not because everything will now be alright, surely. But because, for the first time in a long time, several levels are opening up simultaneously: The UN is taking action. Ankara and Brussels are talking. Guterres is visibly on the issue. Holguín is gathering resources. The NATO summit is bringing the security question to the forefront. And deep within the island, there is still this quiet, persistent reminder: We haven't always lived separately.

Perhaps peace is sometimes exactly that: not a return to a past that can never exist again, but the courage to build a future from the best memories that is new enough to truly sustain us.

For Northern Cyprus, for the Republic of Cyprus, for all Cypriots, this would be more than a political solution.

It would be a relief.

All love

Samira & Marten