During 2020 leadership elections in Cyprus's north, Turkish President Erdo?an made the surprising announcement that the Turkish government would soon open the closed city of Varosha. Popularly known as a "ghost town," the Famagusta suburb had been a popular resort area in the 1970's until the island's division turned it into a hostage to negotiations. In this policy brief, Mete Hatay analyses the local and regional politics of Varosha's opening and makes suggestions for turning a political pawn into a building-block for peace.