We will work in consultation with the two sides in Cyprus and the guarantor powers to create the conditions for the success of a new informal 5+1 meeting, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stressed on Friday.
Speaking during a press conference in New York and reflecting on his recent visit to Cyprus, the Secretary-General underlined that his visit ‘showed that in a rapidly changing and increasingly volatile region, the search for solutions is more urgent than ever.’
‘Based on our discussions on the way forward, I decided that I would convene another 5+1 meeting, after adequate preparations on confidence building, methodology and substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved.’
He also noted that ‘we will work in consultation with the two sides and the guarantors, to create the conditions for the meeting’s success.’
Responding to a question by the Cyprus News Agency on what would constitute meaningful and adequate preparation for the proposed meeting, the Secretary-General noted that ‘I mean exactly that. We had several meetings at the 5+1 that were not able to reach conclusions because they had not been well prepared. This time, we need to prepare well the next meeting in order to make sure that it leads to the solution,’ he noted.
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.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. 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.