On September 27, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings (CUSE) hosted Demetris Christofias, president of the Republic of Cyprus, for an address on the latest developments in the efforts to solve the island’s 36-year-old division following the Turkish invasion in 1974, also known as the Cyprus problem. President Christofias shared his thoughts on the current status of the negotiations and the future prospects for a solution, 50 years after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus. He also offered his views on the accession process of Turkey to the European Union and discussed the role Cyprus can play in the region as a reliable and valuable partner of the United States.

Demetris Christofias was inaugurated president of the Republic of Cyprus on February 28, 2008. At the time of his election Mr. Christofias was serving his second five-year term as president of the House of Representatives, a post he held since 2001. He was first elected to the House of Representatives as an AKEL-Left-New Forces party candidate for the Kyrenia district in 1991 and was re-elected in 1996, in 2001 and 2006. He had been General Secretary of the AKEL Central Committee from 1988 to 2008.

Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution, provided introductory remarks. After the program, President Christofias took audience questions. Brookings Senior Fellow Steven Pifer moderated.