Religious leaders call for end to stalemate in Cyprus peace process

The Religious Leaders of Cyprus that make up the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process (RTCYPP), jointly express their best wishes for the meetings starting today in Geneva to end the stalemate of the Cyprus peace process and resume the dialogue on the future of the island and pray for them.

In a press release, the religious leaders said the two leaders are “meeting at a holy time for Christians and Muslims; Easter and Ramadan, when we in Churches and Mosques all over our island ask for forgiveness, pray for our neighbour and believe in the possibility for a new life”. We assure you, it added, “that we are following your deliberations closely and pray that God Almighty will guide you at every step” and that after decades of conflict, mistrust, division and  insecurity, “we pray that God will guide you to walk in the path of wisdom and righteousness”.

They call on the leaders to pay special attention to the living religious heritage of our island and improve possibility to access, use and restore places of worship and cemeteries that have been separated from their worshipers as a result of the decades long unresolved Cyprus conflict.

They urged the leaders to “embark on a common journey of increased cooperation, dialogue, and empathy between our communities, for memories to heal, trust replacing fear and for hope to grow”.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The UN Secretary-General invited all parties involved to attend an informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus issue in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 April 2021.