As Akıncı and Anastasiades embarked on a fresh round of intensive reunification talks on 23 August 2016, the stakes for resolving the Cyprus issue could not be higher. The latest round of reunification talks, which resumed in May 2015 under the leadership of two like-minded, pro-solution leaders, is seen as the last effort to resolve the decades-long Cyprus problem. During the seven meetings scheduled until 14 September, the two sides will try to minimise their differences on the outstanding issues. From that perspective, the picture that emerges in mid-September as a result of the intensive talks will give an idea as to whether a breakthrough in the Cyprus issue by the end of 2016 would be possible.

In the latest IKV Brief, “Make-or-Break Time for Cyprus Settlement”, IKV Researcher Yeliz Şahin, highlights the importance of the current period until 14 September and argues that external developments such as leadership changes at the helm of the UN and the US, coupled with the upcoming election campaign period in Southern Cyprus and the possibility that new hydrocarbon drilling activities could commence in 2017, suggest that the current window of opportunity could close by 2017 and increase the sense of urgency for reaching a settlement within 2016.

To read the brief click here.