United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres wishes the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus issue before the end of his term and the expanded 5+1 meeting should be placed in this context, according to competent sources with knowledge of the consultations.
The same sources said that the expanded meeting will be convened solely with the aim of announcing the start of substantive negotiations and that serious preparation should be preceded by all parties involved, in order to create the conditions for real progress.
According to the same sources, the Secretary-General, who visited Cyprus for a series of contacts, secured the positive consent of all parties to convene the expanded meeting, a development that, as they stressed, was not a given until about two weeks ago.
The decisive factor was the telephone communication that Guterres had with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, from whom he received the “green light” on Sunday evening, they said.
The basis of the next phase
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The same sources described the development as positive and substantive, noting that there is now agreement among all those involved on the next step in the process, while the fact that there was no deadlock, allows, as they stressed, the transition from the preparation stage to the substantive stage.
They also pointed out that the UN Secretary-General conveyed to the Cypriot government that the process will move in the spirit of the Guterres Framework, without necessarily bearing that specific name. The effort will be built on the convergences that have already been achieved and the divergences that still exist.
They added that the UN Secretary-General remains committed to the agreed United Nations framework and that the negotiating acquis and the body of work that has been formed over all the previous years are not lost, but constitute the basis on which the next phase of the process will be based.
The same sources noted that according to what the Secretary-General conveyed, the process will move within the framework of the relevant Security Council resolutions, aiming at a solution that will ensure the three non-negotiable attributes of one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international personality (“three singles”), will be compatible with the European acquis throughout the territory of Cyprus and will address security issues, including the abolition of the system of guarantees and the withdrawal of the occupying forces.
Competent sources also note as particularly important the Secretary-General’s public references to both the convergences and Crans Montana, as well as to the guarantor powers and the role they can play. They also point out that the UNSG referred to “people” and not to “communities”, something that, according to the same sources, was absent from his previous public statements.
Proposal on crossing points
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As regards CBMs the same sources report that the UN Secretary General sought to ascertain whether there was room for progress, mainly on the issue of new crossing points. In this context, he submitted a proposal for the simultaneous opening of the Mia Milia and a crossing point in the Athienou area, with a different route.
According to the same information, the President of the Republic accepted the proposal and agreed to make it public. The UNSG described it as a ‘reasonable compromise’. However, the Turkish Cypriot leader did not accept it and no relevant announcement was made.
President put forward proposals for missing persons, good will initiatives
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The same sources said that President Christodoulides proposed to include measures for the missing persons, with the aim of facilitating the work of the Committee on Missing Persons through access to more military areas and to the archives of the Turkish army.
The Secretary General, they added, acknowledged the importance of the issue, without however making a relevant announcement.
At the same time, according to the same sources, the President of the Republic put forward to the Secretary General a proposal for goodwill initiatives or steps of mutual benefit between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey. It is estimated that Guterres may convey the relevant suggestions, utilizing the communication channel he maintains with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Moreover, the European Union Special Representative for the Cyprus problem, Raffaele Fitto, is expected to arrive in Cyprus at midnight on Thursday, to hold contacts on Friday and depart the same day.
The same sources said that his visit was decided upon following an intervention by the UNSG. Furthermore, the National Council, top advisory body to the President of Cyprus on the Cyprus issue, is expected to convene on Monday, during which the President of the Republic will inform the political parties about the results of the Secretary-General’s visit and the next steps.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
After informal meetings in 2025, followed by a hiatus of several months, deliberations are underway for a new meeting in broader format to be held, as the term of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres nears its end. María Angela Holguín, Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.
CNA/TN/AAR/EPH/2026S, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY