UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is visiting Cyprus, said Tuesday that he is on the island to express his solidarity with the people of Cyprus and his engagement in helping reach a solution.
Speaking after a meeting he had with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, who was standing beside him, the UNSG said that “I would just like to say once more that I come to express my solidarity with the people of Cyprus and my engagement to helping to find both with the Cypriots but also with the guarantors, a solution”.
At the same time, he added, he is here to see if Confidence Building Measures “are developed in a way that is beneficial for the people of both sides”.
Concluding, he said that he held “two very constructive meetings with the leaders”.
The meeting began at 11.50 am local and the UNSG made his statement at 13.45.
Earlier in the day, the UNSG held a meeting with President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.
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.