16th Round of the Heybeliada Talks

Aiming to support the search for a lasting settlement in Cyprus through a multilateral dialogue and informed debate between various segments of society, GPoT Center organized the 16th round of the Heybeliada Talks in Nicosia's Buffer Zone on 18th June 2014.

Sponsored by the Open Society Foundation in Turkey, the event took place with the participation of approximately 20 political analysts, academics, civil society activists, political and opinion leaders, experts, and journalists from Greece, Turkey, and both sides in Cyprus.

The participants of the 16th round had the opportunity to exchange ideas on the role of track 2 diplomacy, and the impact of the regional crisis on the high-level Cyprus negotiations, which resumed under the auspices of the United Nations in February 2014. They also exchanged views on how the current negotiations are different from 1968, when the peace talks first started.

The Heybeliada Talks have served as a multilateral dialogue platform since July 2008. The 16 meetings conducted up until today have provided Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, and representatives from Turkey and Greece with the opportunity to engage in frank discussion on issues pertaining to the solution of the Cyprus question in parallel with the official negotiations. Originally started on the island of Heybeliada in the Sea of Marmara, the meetings were later relocated to Nicosia’s Buffer Zone.