Guterres to make landmark Cyprus visit as UN pushes for peace efforts

NICOSIA

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to visit Cyprus later this month for talks with the leaders of both communities, in what is being described as his latest diplomatic effort to revive long-stalled peace negotiations on the ethnically divided island, media reported on July 16.

The visit is scheduled for July 27-28 and will mark the first trip to the island by a sitting U.N. secretary-general in 16 and a half years. The last serving U.N. chief to visit the island was Ban Ki-moon, who traveled there in early 2010.

During his visit, Guterres will hold separate meetings with Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, before bringing the two leaders together for a joint meeting, several media reports said.

He is also expected to meet members of the island’s bicommunal technical committees as well as representatives of civil society organizations.

The U.N. chief will be accompanied by Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

With his second and final term due to expire at the end of 2026, Guterres has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent months in a bid to restart formal negotiations on the Cyprus issue before leaving office.

The renewed engagement comes amid reports that the U.N. Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, has prepared a new framework aimed at breaking the decades-long deadlock.

According to the reports, the initiative envisions a more flexible federal settlement and includes proposals under which the Turkish Cypriot side would make territorial concessions in return for greater international integration.

In exchange, the Turkish Cypriot side would be granted closer integration with the European Union, while restrictions would be eased through direct trade, direct flights and expanded international engagement.

The reported proposal also envisages abolishing the island’s guarantor system, which has remained a cornerstone of the existing security architecture since Cyprus gained independence.

The Cyprus dispute has remained unresolved for more than half a century despite repeated U.N.-brokered peace initiatives. The most recent comprehensive round of negotiations collapsed at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017 without producing a settlement.