Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman told U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Feb. 11 that Turkish Cypriots face what he described as “unfair and unlawful isolation,” adding that the next talks on the ethnically-divided island must be different.
The meeting in New York marked their first encounter since Erhürman took office in October 2025, with his office saying that it was conducted in a “positive atmosphere.”
According to the statement, the two discussed regional and current developments as well as the Cyprus issue, including recent progress on confidence-building measures.
Erhürman also presented four conditions he believes must be satisfied for meaningful negotiations on the island to resume.
The proposals call for the Greek Cypriot side to accept political equality, agree to time-bound talks and uphold previous accords, while the U.N. would ensure that any embargoes on Turkish Cypriots are lifted if Greek Cypriots withdraw from future negotiations.
Reports have indicated that Erhürman may have secured U.S. backing for these demands, though support closer to home appears more limited.
Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has shown little willingness to accept the four points, saying after last month’s trilateral meeting with Erhürman and U.N. envoy Maria Angela Holguin that he had already addressed the issue during those talks.
Evaluating the meeting with Guterres, the Turkish Cypriot leader noted that the next phase of Cyprus talks must break from past negotiating patterns, stressing, “This time it must be different.”
Erhürman said he told Guterres face to face that, given past experiences and what he described as repeated disappointments for Turkish Cypriots, future meetings should not be held merely for the sake of dialogue but must be genuinely aimed at reaching a settlement.
