Ankara reiterates two-state solution ahead of UN chief’s visit

ANKARA

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres walks at a press conference in Damascus on July 26, 2026. (AFP)

Türkiye remains cautious over a new potential initiative by the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a solution to the decades-old Cyprus problem, while reiterating that a two-state solution is the most realistic way to resolve it.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan exchanged a phone conversation with Guterres late on July 26, a day before the latter’s two-day visit. There was no statement about the content of the conversation.

Guterres will hold separate meetings with Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides on July 28. He will convene the two leaders for a three-way meeting on July 29 before holding a press conference.

The U.N. chief, whose term concludes at the end of this year, is aiming to observe whether there is common ground for launching a new initiative to resolve the problem. The U.N.’s parameters envisage a bi-zonal and bi-communal federal solution which would reunite the Turkish and Greek Cypriots under a new structure.

Ankara, however, has already voiced its opposition to negotiating a federal solution, stressing that the best way to address the problem is the acceptance of the existence of two different states on the island.

Fidan expressed Türkiye’s stance in his most recent meeting with Guterres’ special envoy to Cyprus, Maria Holguin Cuellar, on July 24, according to diplomatic sources.

Fidan explained that Türkiye, as the motherland and one of the guarantor countries of Cyprus, believes that “the most realistic solution is the existence of two states side by side in the island.”

He also underlined that approaches that do not recognize the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, such as sovereign equality and equal international status, will not contribute to a solution.

Erhürman: We are ready for UN chief’s visit

Fidan’s statements came after some ideas regarding the issue, thought to have been put forward by Cuellar, appeared in the Greek media in recent weeks. Erhürman denied the reports on a comprehensive plan, stating that these were merely ideas.

Following the collapse of the latest U.N.-led negotiations in 2017 in Crans-Montana, Türkiye declared that it would no longer discuss a federal solution to the problem, as there was nothing to negotiate with Greek Cyprus, which is not willing to share sovereignty with the Turkish Cypriots.

The election of Erhürman, a moderate politician, as president in 2025 increased hopes for the resumption of direct talks between the two sides.

In a statement before Guterres’ visit, Erhürman underlined that they were ready for the visit to the U.N. secretary-general, reiterating that U.N. officials are well aware of the Turkish Cypriot position.

“We have expressed that the visit of Mr. Guterres to our island is important,” Erhürman said, but also urged that this visit should not be interpreted as a beginning or an end of an initiative for the solution of the problem.

The president also recalled that they would continue to handle the process in close coordination with Turkish officials.