UN Secretary General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Khassim Diagne, focused on the recent reports of the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus during his briefing to the members of the UN Security Council on Thursday in New York, which was held behind closed doors and lasted approximately one hour and thirty minutes.
According to CNA information, Diagne highlighted the significant efforts by the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, to continue her intensive contacts with the two sides with a view to achieving the resumption of negotiations.
European members of the UN Security Council – France, Latvia, Greece and Denmark – as well as the United States, reportedly expressed their support for a solution based on the agreed framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality.
Pakistan and Somalia reportedly referred to ‘economic disparities” and “conditions of isolation” affecting the Turkish Cypriot community on the island.
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.