UN Secretary-General António Guterres is seeking either to achieve meaningful progress towards a settlement of the Cyprus issue during his term of office or, if that proves impossible, to hand over to his successor a process that is ‘in the last mile’, informed sources told CNA, assessing the messages emerging from Guterres visit to Cyprus.
According to the same sources, Guterres believes it is important to maintain the momentum that has developed over recent months so that the next UN Secretary-General inherits a process that has already made substantial progress.
They also note that António Guterres was the one who, in 2017, recorded and summarised the substance of the negotiations in the form of the six-point framework. As such, he has the necessary knowledge and continuity to try to move the process to its next stage. In their view, if progress is achieved on this basis, it will be difficult for any successor to abandon a process that is already well under way.
Against this backdrop, the same sources consider it particularly significant that the prospect of convening another meeting on the Cyprus issue in a broader format, remains open. They point out that moving to such a conference presupposes a positive outlook for continuing discussions within the framework established by the United Nations and is not a development that should be regarded as either automatic or insignificant.
According to the same information, any decision to resume formal negotiations would mean that agreement – or at least substantial convergence – had already been reached on certain key aspects of the Cyprus issue.
At the same time, they stress that the Turkish side has not rejected the continuation of discussions on the Cyprus issue.
They also attach particular importance to the meeting between the President of the Republic, the Turkish Cypriot leader and the UN Secretary-General, noting that the very fact that all three parties sat around the same table is in itself an indication of the progress made compared with where the process stood just a few months ago.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources link the increased momentum surrounding the Cyprus issue to the enhanced role played by the Republic of Cyprus in the wider region, as well as to the position adopted by the European Union.
The same sources clarify that no specific dates have yet been set for the possible convening of an expanded meeting. They say that the next steps will depend on the contacts António Guterres continues to hold in Cyprus, with the aim of determining whether the necessary conditions exist for the next stage in the Cyprus peace process.
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.