U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Cyprus on July 27 for a three-day visit, the first to the island by a serving U.N. chief in 16 years, as he seeks to support efforts to revive the stalled peace process.
Guterres, who traveled from Syria, was due to meet Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides separately on July 28.
The two leaders were then expected to join him for a private dinner, followed by a joint meeting on July 29 in the U.N.-controlled buffer zone.
He was also scheduled to visit the anthropology laboratory of the Committee on Missing Persons and meet negotiators, bicommunal technical committees and civil society representatives.
The visit is part of Guterres’ good offices mission, the U.N. said. His second and final term expires at the end of 2026.
The last serving U.N. secretary-general to visit Cyprus was Ban Ki-moon in 2010.
The trip has prompted media reports that Guterres may bring a new framework for a settlement, but the U.N. has announced no formal proposal.
His personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, said the visit was intended to support efforts toward possible negotiations and help advance the process.
Before traveling to Cyprus, Guterres spoke by phone with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on July 26.
Turkish diplomatic sources said they discussed regional developments in the context of the U.N. chief’s visits to Syria and Cyprus.
Holguin met Fidan in Ankara on July 24 before holding preparatory talks with Erhürman and Christodoulides.
During the Ankara meeting, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s position that the most realistic settlement would be the coexistence of two states and that the sovereign equality and equal international status of Turkish Cypriots must be recognized.
Formal U.N.-brokered negotiations have remained stalled since talks in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, ended without an agreement in 2017.
The Greek Cypriot side favors a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, while Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot side support a two-state settlement.
A further informal meeting involving the two sides, guarantor powers Türkiye, Greece and Britain, and the U.N. could follow if sufficient common ground emerges.
Ahead of Guterres’ visit, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ünal Üstel urged the U.N. to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and abandon the federation model.
“The reality on the island is clear. There are two peoples, two democracies and two separate states in Cyprus,” Üstel said.
