Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) met with Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman, in Nicosia, Turkish Cyprus, on Nov. 6, 2026. (AA Photo)
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Turkish Cyprus on Nov. 6 for talks with the divided island’s northern administration on bilateral relations and the latest developments in efforts to resolve its decades-long dispute.
During his working visit, Fidan met Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman and Prime Minister Ünal Üstel. He was also expected to meet his counterpart, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu.
The meetings were expected to address bilateral issues and recent developments in efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem, which has remained unresolved for decades.
Fidan’s visit comes amid renewed U.N. efforts to encourage cooperation between the island’s two communities, despite the continued absence of common ground for a comprehensive settlement.
Following an informal trilateral dinner in New York on Oct. 15, 2024, involving U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the leaders of the island’s two communities, the United Nations said there was no common ground for a final settlement under the prevailing circumstances.
A new process was launched in 2025 at Guterres’ initiative to identify areas of practical cooperation that could benefit both communities and build trust.
The first expanded informal meeting, bringing together the two island leaders, the foreign ministers of Türkiye and Greece and a British minister of state, was held in Geneva in March 2025. Participants identified six potential areas of cooperation.
A second meeting in the same format was held in New York four months later to assess progress, but no breakthrough was achieved on key issues, including the opening of new crossing points.
Guterres visited the island on July 27-29, holding bilateral and trilateral meetings with the two leaders in a further diplomatic effort to advance cooperation.
Meanwhile, the U.N. chief’s personal envoy on Cyprus, María Angela Holguin Cuellar, is visiting the island from Oct. 29 to Nov. 10.
Holguin held separate meetings with Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Oct. 30 and Erhürman on Nov. 2 as part of her visit.
