Well-informed sources tell The Levant Files that Ankara is open to dialogue on Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations, but will not return to the federal negotiating model that collapsed at Crans-Montana in 2017. Ankara will not enter a new Cyprus negotiation on the basis of the federal formula pursued at Crans-Montana nearly a decade ago, well-informed sources have told The Levant Files, as reports emerge of a possible United Nations effort to table a more flexible political framework later this summer. According to the sources, Turkey welcomes dialogue on all outstanding issues, including the Cyprus problem and Greek-Turkish relations. However, Ankara’s position is that it is impossible to return to the deadlocks and assumptions that defined previous rounds of negotiations. The sources said Ankara strongly supports what it describes as the state dimension of the Turkish Cypriot side and considers a just, equal sharing of land, governance, airspace and maritime areas to be essential to an...
Four-party talks involving Iran, the United States, Qatar and Pakistan paused on Sunday after an initial 80-minute session, as Tehran sought to make progress on what it describes as unmet commitments over Lebanon, sanctions relief and the implementation of an earlier understanding. Iranian news agency IRNA, in reporting carried by several Persian-language outlets, said the delegations interrupted the meeting at the Bürgenstock venue for internal consultations. The pause was presented as procedural rather than as a breakdown, with reports indicating that further discussions were expected after the delegations reviewed their positions. The meeting brought together Iranian and US representatives alongside Qatari and Pakistani mediators. According to Eghtesad Online, which cited IRNA, the talks were convened to follow up on commitments contained in the so-called Islamabad memorandum, a framework that Iranian officials portray as a precursor to any wider agreement rather than a final settle...