Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stated that the solution to the long-standing Cyprus issue is very simple, emphasizing that the only realistic way forward is the two-state solution supported by Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

In his article published in The Independent newspaper, former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw commented on the Geneva summit and the Cyprus negotiation process.

Straw said, “The only realistic way to move forward on the Cyprus issue is a two-state solution.”

Pointing out that the Greek Cypriots stubbornly cling to the federal solution proposal, which has led to failed negotiations, Straw stated, “The continuation of inaction on the Cyprus issue cannot be allowed. A new way of thinking is needed to cut this tumor out of Europe.”

Straw also noted that given the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s “ridiculous statements” a few years ago, in which she asserted that “the European Union would never accept a two-state solution on the island,” the EU would not take the right steps.

However, he suggested that this situation leaves the door open for the UK, as well as Minister for Europe and North America Stephen Doughty, to take the lead in finding a permanent solution to what has “plagued Europe for decades.”