Reunifying Cyprus: Hopes and fears, 44 years on (part 1)
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Barbed wire, checkpoints, abandoned buildings and military bases: all of these are common sights in Cyprus - a country that remains split in two, 44 years after the Turkish military invaded and occupied the north. In 2017, peace talks slated as the "best and last chance" by the United Nations, collapsed. Following President Anastasiades' re-election in February of this year, our team travelled to Cyprus to unpick the biggest issues that could help, or hinder, the path to peace.
We travel to both sides of the buffer zone to meet Members of the European Parliament, who tell us what they think Europe should be doing to help its third-smallest member state; as well as the outgoing foreign minister; the Greek Cypriot chief negotiator; Turkish Cypriot officials and citizens; gas experts involved in exploiting precious offshore reserves; and some of the 1,600 Russians who've been granted Cypriot nationality in the last decade under a new fast-track scheme.
We bring you several reports during the show: “Reunification, what now?” by Luke Brown and Johan Bodin, “Is gas a game-changer for the future of a united Cyprus?” and “Russia: Welcome to Limassolgrad”, by Luke Brown.
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