_: Remains of missing persons were found this week at three of the eight excavations currently being carried out by the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), in the area of Agios Georgios Spathariko, Kalo Chorio Kythreas and Lapithos. The remains of one person were found at two sites, while the remains of two people were found at the third location.

Leonidas Pantelides, the Greek Cypriot member of the CMP, speaking on Saturday at a meeting of the 100-member Consultative Body of the Pancyprian Organisation of Relatives of Missing Persons, in Nicosia, said that, of the 2,002 people on the official list, 1,082 have so far been identified, of whom 765 are Greek Cypriots and 317 Turkish Cypriots. There remain, he continued, 745 Greek Cypriots and 175 Turkish Cypriots.

So far in 2026, 20 people have been identified, compared with 12 identifications in 2025. 'There are still major cases involving mass graves that have not been located. We hope that we are getting close in every effort.' Pantelides said that what they are seeking are the medical records of the Turkish army, which carried out the mass burials in 1974, not the army's operational records.

In his address, Presidential Commissioner of the Republic, Marios Hartsiotis said that determining the fate of missing persons is, for the state, an overriding humanitarian and national obligation. The clear policy of the President of the Republic, he added, is to continue and intensify efforts, with initiatives at local, European and international level. 'The President systematically raises the issue before the European Union, the United Nations and foreign leaders, seeking meaningful cooperation from Turkey, the removal of obstacles to investigations and exhumations, and access to information and archives of the Turkish army' he went on.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, Enclaved Persons, Missing Persons and Affected Persons, Nikos Kettiros, said that determining the fate of the last missing person is an obligation of the state and a responsibility shared by all, and that there can be no complacency as long as families are waiting for answers. As a Parliamentary Committee, he said, they have placed the issue of missing persons high on their priorities, closely monitoring the progress of investigations and identifications, and insisting on the need to make use of every scientific and technological capability that could lead to new results.

The President of the Pancyprian Organisation of Relatives of Missing Persons, Nikos Sergides, said that the findings of exhumations to date demonstrate in the clearest possible terms the practices and conduct of the Turkish side towards prisoners. 'Yes, we failed to conduct a substantive and effective investigation, as required by international law, but as an Organisation we are entitled to be proud that through our stance we have managed, 52 years later, to keep the issue of Cyprus' missing persons alive and on the international community's agenda.'

Maria Kalbourtzi, President of the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of Unregistered Prisoners and Missing Persons during the Cyprus tragedy, said that in recent years, joint efforts, meetings with the political leadership in Greece and Cyprus, as well as their interventions in international forums, demonstrate that coordination between Athens and Nicosia 'is our strongest weapon.'

Neoklis Neokleous, President of the Organisation of Relatives of Cypriot Missing Persons in the United Kingdom, proposed 'humanitarian cooperation that can change the existing situation.' The proposal, he explained, involves a secure mechanism with a strict confidentiality protocol, under the supervision of the United Nations, which would allow Turkey to share with the CMP information concerning locations, such as points, maps and descriptions of the terrain.

Haris Symeonidis, President of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Persons from the 1963-1964 period, said: 'I admire you for your strength and urge you never to tire, never to lose hope. We must not forget our side's longstanding position that there will be no solution to the Cyprus problem unless the fate of the last missing person is determined. We hope that this position will never be abandoned.'

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.

A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.