Island Talks

Join Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli as they unpack the latest developments in the Cyprus issue following UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' recent visit to the island.

With only months left in his term, Guterres met the two leaders, representatives of civil society, the technical committees, and spoke with the Guarantor Powers in an effort to inject new momentum into the peace process. The outcome? An agreement to convene a new 5+1 informal conference. While no date has yet been announced, Guterres made clear that he expects meaningful progress on confidence-building measures, methodology, and substance to give the meeting the best possible chance of success.

What does this mean for Cyprus? Is this another diplomatic milestone—or simply another stop along a familiar road?

Tune in as Andromachi and Kemal break down the latest developments, explore what happened behind the scenes, and discuss what could come next for the Cyprus talks.

Until 2015, the main funder of bicommunal initiatives in Cyprus was the US Agency for International Development (USAID). For those working on EU-funded practical dialogue initiatives today, what lessons can we learn from those times? Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen asks former USAID Senior Program and Bicommunal Program Advisor, Elizabeth Kassinis.

Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan bölgemizi etkisi altına alan savaşı, giderek küresel bir ekonomik krize dönüşme potansiyelini, kriptonun düşüşünü, sevimli maymun Punch'ın yarattığı etkiyi, Oscar adaylarını, Altın Ayı'yı alan Emin Alper'in Kurak Günler'ini, Orhan Pamuk'un Masumiyet Müzesi'ni ve diğer eserlerini, Lolita'yı ve Kubrick'i, Kemal Tango için Beyrut'tayken savaşın patlak vermesini ve Kemal'ın Beyrut izlenimlerini konuştular.

Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Garip Zamanlar bu hafta Epstein belgelerini konuştu. Böylesi savrulmaların sınıfsal boyutu var mı? Ne biçim bir çağda yaşıyoruz? Oscar'a giderken. Yapay zekanın tehlikeli yüzü. Kuantum bilgisayarlar. Piyasalarda temsili semboller. Altın ve gümüş Kriptoyu yendi mi? Güvenilecek liman yok mu? İran'da neler olacak? ABD'de ICE'a duyulan tepki nereye varacak?

"8 Ocak 2014'te çevrimiçi radyo formatında başlayan Garip Zamanlar maceramız, 12. yaşını doldurdu! Bizleri bu kadar yıldır yalnız bırakmayan dinleyicilerimize çok teşekkür ediyoruz" diyor Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan. Bu bölümde dünya çıldırmış olmalı, diplomasinin sonu mu, Davos zirvesinde ne oldu, Monroe Doktrini ne demektir, korumacılık ticaretin sonunu getirecek mi, İsviçre'nin Kıbrıslılar için anlamı, Oscar adaylarının değerlendirilmesi, Kemal'ın Gürcistan seyahati, Gospodinov romanları ve hüzünlü pop müzik.

The Cyprus negotiations process puts far too much of the burden on two men in a room who have elections coming, and far too little on ordinary citizens. Sapienta Economics Director, Fiona Mullen, discusses how to do it differently. Links referred to in the original article at Sapienta Cyprus Snippets: flexible citizens, SeeD on preventive security, Guterres Framework, EU-funded C-UP project, ICLAIM, original concept launch in May 2024.

In the last month of 2025, Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli produced two consecutive and special episodes. Recorded a few days after the first part, the second part focuses on the outcome of the first meeting of leaders with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. What are the positions of sides when it comes to resuming the negotations? Are we going to see new confidence building measures being implemented? How does the international developments impact the talks? Should we expect to see any progress during Cyprus' EU Presidency? What role the international community can play to support the Cypriot leaders? How will the political party elections in 2026 affect the process? Political personalities of both leaders.

In the last month of 2025, Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli produced two consecutive and special episodes. The first episode focused on the election of Tufan Erhürman in the first round with 63% vote as well as the internal and external dynamics leading to the replacement of previous Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar. What role the Turkish government played in the Turkish Cypriot elections? How did the voters respond? Does 63% mean Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly endorsed a federal agenda? Will Turkey agree to the resumption of talks? How is Erhürman being regarded in the Greek Cypriot community? How will the sides engage with each other? What are their positions? What are the latest in the local party politics in both communities?

Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan senenin bu onikinci Garip Zamanlar bölümünde 2025'i masaya yatırdılar! Yıla damga vuran olaylar, yapay zekanın geldiği aşama, Avrupa ve ABD arasındaki Atlantik ittifakının çatırdaması, seneye damga vuran filmler, Jack Nicholson, Stephen King, yazların sıcak ve kurak olması, yapılan seyahatler, Spotify'da en çok dinlenen şarkılar, daha neler neler. Yakında 12 yaşını kutlayacak olan Garip Zamanlar bir yılı daha dinleyicileyle birlikte kapatıyor olmanın kıvancını yaşıyor.

In this episode Sapienta Economics Director, Fiona Mullen, discusses proposals for a bank windfall tax put forward by the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) in November and the many reasons why it is a bad idea. This podcast comes from an article that first appeared in Sapienta Cyprus Snippets at sapienta.substack.com.