15th Round of the Heybeliada Talks

Following the resumption of the official Cyprus negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations in February 2014, GPoT Center organised the 15th round of the Heybeliada Talks to allow the Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and participants from Turkey and Greece to meet and exchange views and opinions on the current developments on the island in parallel with the high-level track.

Sponsored by the Open Society Foundation in Turkey, the meeting took place on 12 April 2014 in Nicosia’s Buffer Zone. More than 20 participants engaged in a frank discussion focusing on the economic benefits of a prospective solution in Cyprus and best practices in Confidence Building Measures. Participants included civil society representatives, political leaders, experts, academics, journalists, opinion makers and members of technical committees and negotiating teams.

The Heybeliada Talks have served as a multilateral communication platform since July 2008. Originally started on the island of Heybeliada in the Sea of Marmara, the meetings were later relocated to Nicosia’s Buffer Zone.

Ideas about the future of Cyprus put forth by some of the participants are accessible in The Heybeliada Talks: Sharing Ideas from and for Cyprus booklet released on the eve of the 15th round of the talks. Edited by Mensur Akgün and Sylvia Tiryaki of GPoT Center, the publication includes contributions by Costa Constanti, Takis Hadjidemetriou, Mete Hatay, Praxoula Antoniadou Kyriacou, Sami Özuslu and Chrysostomos Pericleous.

In 2011 GPoT Center published The Heybeliada Talks: Two Years of Public Diplomacy on Cyprus - another book summarising the ideas discussed during the first nine rounds. The publication was prepared by Lenka Peťková and edited by Mensur Akgün and Sylvia Tiryaki of GPoT Center.