U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is preparing to announce a fresh initiative aimed at relaunching negotiations on Cyprus before the end of his term later this year, according to media reports.
Guterres seeks to leave behind a renewed diplomatic effort for his successor, one that incorporates the convergences achieved up to the Crans-Montana talks and preserves the prospect of successfully concluding the process, the Greek Cypriot daily Politis reported.
The Cyprus dispute has endured for decades between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite multiple U.N.-led initiatives. Ethnic violence in the 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots into the enclave and a 1974 Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece prompted Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor to protect the Turkish Cypriot population.
The last major round of peace talks collapsed in Switzerland in 2017. However, leaders from both sides have held several meetings this year, described as “constructive” by Guterres.
During a meeting in Brussels on March 18 with Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Guterres reportedly did not specify how he intended to achieve the goal of restarting negotiations. Instead, he emphasized the need to develop a mutually agreed understanding among all stakeholders as a prerequisite for resuming talks.
Guterres also consulted all relevant parties regarding the new initiative and appears to have received a broadly positive response.
Citing an unnamed member of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team, a report noted that this “mutual understanding” is believed to involve preserving the points agreed upon up to the end of the Crans-Montana process, while focusing on the remaining unresolved issues.
According to the report, when asked whether Guterres’ new effort would address the four conditions put forward by Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman for the resumption of talks, the same source said that reaffirming existing convergences and avoiding the reopening of agreed issues would be a constructive step.
In November 2025, Tufan Erhürman proposed a four-point methodology for restarting negotiations.
He stated that political equality should not be subject to bargaining. He also called for a clearly defined timeline for both the start and conclusion of the talks.
In addition, he emphasized that previously achieved technical and political convergences should not be reopened for negotiation, particularly on sensitive issues such as property.
Finally, he argued that guarantees should be put in place to ensure that, if the Greek Cypriot side were to withdraw from the table again, the Turkish Cypriot side would not revert to the current status quo.
