The latest round of talks between the leaders of Cyprus's Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north ended with warm words but little to show for it — and that matters if you're planning a trip that involves crossing the Green Line. Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman said after Thursday's meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides that none of the proposed confidence-building measures have been agreed, including the most traveller-relevant one: opening new crossing points between the two sides.

The leaders met under UN auspices inside the UN Protected Area in Nicosia (known as Lefkoşa in the north), a city that has itself been split since 1974. Erhürman described the session as better than previous encounters, but said the two sides are still, in his words, only listening to each other's views on the big issues. Christodoulides, for his part, said they're not yet on the same page, though he had tabled new proposals on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive questions.

There are seven confidence-building measures on the table. The Turkish Cypriot side has accepted six; the sticking point is those new crossings. Erhürman did welcome one development: Greek Cypriot recognition that the citizenship status of Turkish Cypriots born to mixed marriages is a humanitarian issue — which he wants treated as a human rights matter too. He also pushed back on growing Greek Cypriot cooperation with Israel, arguing it corrodes the atmosphere needed for negotiations.

Where next? Both leaders head to New York to brief UN Secretary-General António Guterres and his personal envoy on the island, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar. Erhürman flies out on 23 September. No deal has been reached either on a four-point methodology meant to structure future negotiations, so a breakthrough is far from guaranteed.

For visitors, the practical picture is unchanged for now. The island remains divided, with the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — recognised only by Türkiye — in the north. Existing crossing points in Nicosia and elsewhere stay open, and travellers routinely move between both sides for beaches, food and history: think Kyrenia's harbour and the Karpaz Peninsula up north, or Paphos and the Troodos Mountains down south. But if you were hoping the talks might unlock easier routes between the two halves, that's been shelved until the politics catch up. Watch the New York meetings — any movement on crossings would be the first tangible change for tourists in years.

This story is primarily political news, but for anyone holidaying on the island it's a useful marker of where things stand: dialogue continues, trust is thin, and the practicalities of travelling across the divide stay exactly as they were.

Story reported by Daily Sabah.