UN talks with rival leaders of Cyprus fail to reach deal on new border crossings

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief said Thursday that he would have liked more results from his meetings with the rival leaders of divided Cyprus, while the Turkish Cypriot leader said he was “very, very upset” that there was no agreement on opening four new border crossings.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the meetings “constructive” and pointed to progress on four of the six initiatives that the leaders agreed to in March. He cautioned, however, that “there’s a long road ahead.”

The Mediterranean island was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and it maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island’s northern third.

Negotiations between the rivals have been stalled since 2017. When asked whether he would start a new round, Guterres responded that there is more to be done before any negotiations. The current talks are “complex,” he said, stressing the very different views of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on a solution.

“I think we are building, step by step, confidence and creating the conditions to do concrete things to the benefit of the Cypriot people,” the secretary-general said.

The agreed-upon, U.N.-endorsed framework for a peace deal has been a reunified Cyprus as a federation composed of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has been demanding a two-state deal ever since his 2020 election. He faces reelection in October and says he’s running on the same two-state platform with Ankara’s full backing.

Tatar told reporters after the meeting that “unless our sovereign equality and equal international status is reaffirmed, we will not resume formal negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.”

Greek Cypriots reject any agreement that would formalize partition, fearing Turkey would seek to control the entire island in light of its demand to maintain a permanent troop presence and military intervention rights in Cyprus. Turkey also insists the minority Turkish Cypriots should have veto rights over all federal government decisions.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters in Greek afterward that the results were in the right direction.

“Yes, there could have been better results if there was the necessary political will, but I believe that, given the circumstances before us, we had significant results,” he said.

The meeting also included the foreign ministers of guarantor countries Turkey and Greece and a United Kingdom deputy minister.

Despite differences on the future of Cyprus, the rivals have made some progress on trust-building measures.

Guterres told reporters that four initiatives had been achieved: creating a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas; the restoration of cemeteries; and an agreement on demining, where technical details still need to be finalized.

He said discussions will continue on opening four new crossings between the Greek and Turkish sides of the island and on solar energy in the buffer zone between them, which is patrolled by a U.N. peacekeeping force.

Tatar accused Christodoulides of preventing the announcement of the four border crossings on Thursday by insisting that one of them go through the buffer zone, which he called unacceptable to Turkish Cypriots.

He also sharply criticized Greek Cypriots for pursuing legal action over the sale of properties in the Turkish Cypriot north, saying the moves “are certainly damaging to the relations of the two peoples and are aimed at damaging our economy and our tourism.”

Property rights are a deeply contentious issue in Cyprus. A recent boom in construction of luxury villas and apartments in the north has prompted Cypriot legal authorities to take a more assertive stance toward realtors and developers to discourage what they say is the large-scale “illegal usurpation” of Greek Cypriot land.

Guterres said the meeting also produced an understanding on a consultative body for civil society engagement, exchange of cultural artifacts, an initiative on air quality monitoring and addressing microplastic pollution.

The secretary-general said Tatar and Christodoulides agreed to meet with him in late September during the annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly and to hold another informal meeting later in the year.

Associated Press journalist Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.

A woman is seen through a military battle position from a wall next to the U.N buffer zone that divided the south, Greek Cypriots, and the north, Turkish Cypriot breakaway controlled areas in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A woman walks across the U.N buffer zone in front of a blocked road as a banner shows the Cyprus island divided, the Turkish occupied area at the north and Cyprus republic at the south, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

People gather at a bench near a "Peace" sign next to the main Ledra crossing point in central divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A man walks in front of a blocked road across the U.N buffer zone as a cat sits next of a banner shows the Cyprus island divided, the Turkish occupied area at the north and Cyprus republic at the south, in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Birds fly behind a Turkish military guard post with a Turkish, left, and Turkish Cypriot breakaway flags next of a U.N buffer zone in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mississippi's scintillating breakthrough quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and his Rebels teammates have been saying for weeks that they have the chemistry, talent and confidence to carry on in the College Football Playoff without former coach Lane Kiffin.

Unlikely as that may have sounded after Kiffin left for rival LSU on Nov. 30, there's been little evidence to the contrary. The Rebels — having dramatically vanquished Southeastern Conference champion Georgia in a Sugar Bowl for the ages — are preparing for a Jan. 8 Fiesta Bowl date with Miami in the CFP semifinals.

“It’s a super tough group,” recently promoted Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said after the No. 6 seed Rebels (13-1) walked off of the Superdome field with a 39-34 victory over third-seeded Georgia (12-2). “They’ve got a lot of grit, and they love playing football, and they’re not tired of it.”

Georgia, the only team to beat Ole Miss this season back in October, was favored by about a touchdown and led by nine at halftime. The Rebels rallied to take a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but still required late-game poise by their defense, a big throw by Chambliss and a clutch kick by Lucas Carneiro to pull it out.

Georgia scored 10 straight points in the last 7:03, but the Bulldogs were threatening to score a go-ahead touchdown when Mississippi's defense held them to a tying field goal with 55 seconds left.

Then, on a third-and-5 from his own 30, Chambliss delivered an accurate deep ball to De'Zhaun Stribling for a 40-yard gain to set up Carneiro's decisive, 47-yard field goal with 6 seconds left (a safety on the ensuing kickoff completed scoring in the final seconds).

Kiffin, who wanted to continue coaching Ole Miss in the postseason after accepting his LSU job but was not permitted to do so by Mississippi Athletic Director Keith Carter, spent part of Thursday night being introduced to the crowd at an LSU women's basketball game by Tigers' coach Kim Mulkey.

Later, Kiffin posted a message of encouragement to his former team on social media, stating, “Only two more to go.”

Since Kiffin flew out of Oxford on a private jet supplied by LSU, “Everybody stayed together and bought in and nobody got frustrated,” Mississippi linebacker Suntarine Perkins said. "I’m really excited about what this group has accomplished this season.”

In terms of their backgrounds, Chambliss and Miami QB Carson Beck could hardly be more of a study in contrast.

Beck is a high-paid, high-profile transfer from Georgia known for his taste in luxury European automobiles. In helping the Hurricanes stage a pair of CFP victories over higher-seeded Texas A&M and defending national champion Ohio State, he's fulfilling the promise with which he returned to his native Florida, where he was a consensus four-star recruit.

Now one more victory in the Fiesta Bowl will give Beck and the 10th-seeded Hurricanes (12-2) a chance to play for a national title in their home stadium on Jan. 19.

Chambliss has emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the most compelling stories in all of college football — the Sugar Bowl being merely his latest chapter.

Last fall, Chambliss played at Division II Ferris State in his native Michigan. Before that, he says he nearly quit football in favor of playing point guard for a Division III basketball program. But after leading Ferris State to a Division II national championship, he took an offer to be a projected backup at Ole Miss this season.

An injury to season-opening starter Austin Simmons thrust Simmons into the spotlight, and his ability to run circles around frustrated pass-rushers while finding receivers breaking open downfield made him such a hit in Oxford, Mississippi, that fans there began flying flags of his namesake Caribbean island nation, Trinidad & Tobago.

“Sometimes I've got to pinch myself,” Chambliss said. "I never really thought I'd get to this point, to be honest, because I did have some doubt at Ferris State if football is really for me.

“It's been a crazy ride so far,” he added.

Next stop, Glendale, Arizona.

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Mississippi platers and coach celebrate a win against Georgia after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)