The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Cyprus and head of the international organization’s peacekeeping force on the island (UNFICYP), Khassim Diagne, is in New York for contacts at the UN headquarters and to brief the UN Security Council, CNA has learnt.
Diagne, according to information, is expected to brief this week the representatives of the troop and police contributing countries.
On January 15, he is expected to brief the UN Security Council based on the latest reports of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on his mission of Good Offices in Cyprus and UNFICYP.
The same sources told CNA that Diagne is to also have meetings with the UN Secretary-General and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
On January 29, the Security Council will vote on the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate for another year.
In the meantime, according to the Security Council January Forecast, based on a report in line with the Secretary-General’s UN80 initiative, on proposed structural and programme realignments for the Office of the Special Adviser on Cyprus, the proposed 2026 programme budget reflects a reduction of $1.2 million (37.7%) for the Office, including the proposed abolishment of eight posts, among them the Special Adviser at the Under-Secretary-General level. The elimination of the Special Adviser post is attributed to the absence of formal negotiations since 2017 and the appointment of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus to follow up on initiatives agreed in Geneva in March 2025, it said.
Competent sources noted that the Special Adviser post has been vacant since Espen Barth Eide left (in 2017). The same sources said that the elimination of seven civilian posts in the Good Offices is expected, staff currently offering administrative support to Technical Committees and arranging meetings and contacts, expressing concern about the Office’s activity.
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.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. An informal meeting in broader format is expected later this year.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.