The Crans-Montana process refers to the conference on Cyprus convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana from late June into early July 2017. It brought together the leaders of the two Cypriot communities — Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı — together with the three guarantor powers under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee: Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The European Union attended as an observer.
The talks aimed to finalise a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, the framework long endorsed by UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus. Negotiators worked through six chapters, including governance and power-sharing, EU matters, the economy, property, territory, and — most contentiously — security and guarantees. The Greek Cypriot side and Greece pressed for the abolition of the guarantee system and the withdrawal of Turkish troops stationed on the island since 1974; Turkey resisted a fixed withdrawal timetable and sought to preserve some form of intervention right.
The conference collapsed in the early hours of 7 July 2017. Guterres, in his subsequent report to the Security Council, described the outcome as a missed "historic opportunity," noting that convergences had been reached on several issues but that the parties could not bridge gaps on security, guarantees, and troop withdrawal. The two sides have since publicly disputed responsibility for the breakdown.
The Crans-Montana process is widely treated as the high-water mark of post-Annan Plan reunification diplomacy. Subsequent UN efforts, including the appointment of María Ángela Holguín as the Secretary-General's personal envoy in 2024, have sought to test whether common ground still exists, but formal negotiations have not resumed at the Crans-Montana level. The Turkish Cypriot leadership under Ersin Tatar, elected in 2020, has since shifted to advocating a two-state solution, departing from the federal framework underpinning the 2017 talks.
Example
In July 2017, the Crans-Montana conference on Cyprus ended without agreement after Greek and Turkish negotiators failed to resolve the question of Turkish troop withdrawal and the future of the guarantee system.
Frequently asked questions
The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, the three guarantor powers (Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom), and the European Union as an observer, under UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
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