CPDC Meets DISY President Annita Demetriou

Nicosia, 10 February 2026 — The Founding President of the Cyprus Peace and Dialogue Center (CPDC), Dr. Meltem Onurkan Samani paid a visit today to Annita Demetriou, President of Democratic Rally (DISY), for a timely and substantive exchange of views on the challenges facing the Cyprus peace process.

The meeting took place at a critical juncture, marked by deepening mistrust and prolonged political deadlock. The CPDC delegation included Erol Kaymak and Çağla Elektrikçi. Xenia Constantinou and Charalambos Stavrides, from DISY, were also present at the meeting.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the urgent need to broaden peace-building efforts to be more inclusive. Experience over time has shown that dialogue confined solely to official negotiations has not delivered a comprehensive settlement. Sustainable peace requires active engagement by political parties, civic actors, and citizens across both communities.

The CPDC emphasized that dialogue should not be pursued for its own sake, but as a structured and constructive process aimed at identifying the core barriers to a solution. Central to this effort are empathy, mutual understanding of sensitivities and fears, and genuine political will exercised in good faith.

Operating under the principles of deliberative democracy, CPDC facilitates inclusive civic assemblies designed to pilot results-oriented approaches to an updated peace process. These initiatives aim to generate concrete ideas and joint proposals that can support and complement formal negotiations, sharing responsibility with political leadership and encouraging progress toward the final mile of peace.

The Founding President of CPDC expressed appreciation to Ms. Demetriou for her openness to dialogue and her commitment to constructive, forward-looking discussion, noting that such engagement is both necessary and timely in the current climate of low confidence and high polarization.