July has arrived and in three days the second, so-called ‘informal five plus one’ conference under the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be held in New York. The venue is the only thing that has changed since the last such gathering in March in Geneva. The July gathering was to have been held in Switzerland as well, but spending cuts at the UN forced the change of plan, a meeting at the New York HQ a more economical choice. Why would the UN waste more funds on a sterile process that is going nowhere and has degenerated into parody?

A report by Cyprus News Agency, quoting unnamed government sources that were asked what the reason for going to New York was, said that in Geneva in March it was decided that the next meeting would be held at the end of July. “For the meeting not to be held would not have been the correct message; it had to happen as it had been decided for it to take place,” said the unnamed source, which added: “There would be an evaluation of where we have got to since the previous meeting in Geneva.” In other words, the meeting would send the correct message as well as evaluate the stagnation of the process.

When the five-party conference was held in March, Guterres told President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar to return to the island and implement six confidence-building measures in order to improve the climate. The three straightforward measures were agreed, but the three – opening of crossings, de-mining, photovoltaic park – that required the two sides to show a little flexibility and a modicum of good faith did not materialise. In fact, the opening of a crossing point was also discussed at the leaders’ meeting with Guterres last October. They could not agree to open one crossing, but Christodoulides has proposed opening four or five to ensure there is no agreement.

The government source quoted by CNA, said that apart from the three points on which there was progress, there was the re-appointment of Guterres’ personal envoy and the appointment of EU special envoy, “which makes it important for there to be the next step of evaluation about where we are and for a direction to be shaped about where we will go next.” The government’s talent for presenting meaningless generalities cannot be disputed, even if it comes across as political satire rather than anything resembling diplomacy.   

Deputy government spokesman, Yiannis Antoniou, was off message when he admitted on a television show that “at this time there is nothing tangible that would allow us to be optimistic that we are at the point we want to be.” He expressed the hope, however, that there would be tangible results in New York that would bring the two sides closer to the target of a resumption of talks on the substance of the Cyprus problem. This is indicative of how Christodoulides and his spokesmen use platitudes to deflect attention away from the unbridgeable gulf that separates the two sides, a gulf they are doing as much as Tatar to maintain.

Each side remains entrenched in its position refusing to budge an inch. This has been the case, ever since Guterres’ personal envoy Maria Angel Holguin first arrived on the island in search of common ground that did not exist. She has not found any, this time either, although reports suggest that something will be announced in New York on the crossings. She is aware, however, that this would still not bring us anywhere near the target of the resumption of the talks. As she told Politis in an interview published on Tuesday, “one of the consequences of failure at Crans Montana was that bizonal, bicommunal federation no longer constitutes a common reference point for the two sides.”

Four years after the informal 5+1 conference of 2021 the positions of the two sides remain very far apart, she said before warning that “this reality must be taken into account, given that it takes two to tango.” So why is the UN pursuing a process that cannot lead to an agreement and why is the UNSG still arranging 5+1 gatherings, when the two leaders refuse to step on the dance floor, let alone tango? It appears the UN is as much a part of the parody as the two leaders.