UN Chief Guterres' Ankara visit to focus on Cyprus
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres will pay a visit to Ankara this week on Friday where he is expected to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As part of the newly-elected official's visit, he is expected to address the ongoing Cyprus matter and then discuss the solutions offered by Turkish authorities on the issue.
The Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary General on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, is also in Ankara to discuss the matter of reunification of the long-divided island with Turkish officials.
According to sources from the Prime Ministry, the U.N.'s Cyprus envoy met with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Tuesday following a closed-door meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
During the meeting with Prime Minister Yıldırım, Eide was expected to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing Cyprus talks and to convey a message from the U.N. Secretary General.
Following Eide's visit, Guterres is likely to arrive in Ankara later this week and meet with President Erdoğan to exchange views on the Cyprus dispute.
While Guterres visits Ankara, top diplomats from Turkey, Britain, and Greece are foreseeing the next round of Cyprus reunification talks will be organized in the next month and diplomatic preparations related to the talks aiming to reunify long-divided Cyprus are expected to be assessed.
In addition to the Cyprus issue, the latest developments in the Middle East, including Syrian refugees, are supposed to have a role in the topics of the visit. In efforts to overcome the Cyprus dispute, the Geneva Summit, which was described by officials as the "best opportunity" to successfully finalize the reunification of the island on creating a two-state federation, had initially convened on Jan. 12. However, the meeting in Geneva failed to accomplish a mutual agreement on the island. In a press conference organized by Guterres with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last month, the U.N. Secretary General had addressed the Cyprus talks, stating that, "We are working hard in order to resolve the issue, we are close to agree upon a federal state where the rights of both sides are guaranteed but we also need instruments to implement it."
Meanwhile, last week the Turkish Cypriot leader stressed that they would go their own way if the two sides did not reach a fair agreement this year, while criticizing the Greek Cypriot side over the"revocation of Turkey's guarantorship."
Akıncı also underlined that although no consensus has been reached yet over territorial changes, talks over the Cyprus issue were nearing an end. Half a dozen topics remain to reach a consensus on, and that is yet to be achieved by both sides. Once a final agreement is reached, it would be put to both Cypriot communities in a referendum. The Turkish Cypriot leader has said a reunification vote could be held in mid-2017 pending agreement in Geneva. Cyprus was divided into two parts, with the Turkish Cypriot state in the north and the Greek Cypriot administration in the south, after the 1974 military coup which resulted in Turkish intervention as a guarantor power. In 2004, a peace deal was approved by Turkish Cypriots but rejected by Greek Cypriot voters.
The Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary General on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, is also in Ankara to discuss the matter of reunification of the long-divided island with Turkish officials.
According to sources from the Prime Ministry, the U.N.'s Cyprus envoy met with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Tuesday following a closed-door meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
During the meeting with Prime Minister Yıldırım, Eide was expected to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing Cyprus talks and to convey a message from the U.N. Secretary General.
Following Eide's visit, Guterres is likely to arrive in Ankara later this week and meet with President Erdoğan to exchange views on the Cyprus dispute.
While Guterres visits Ankara, top diplomats from Turkey, Britain, and Greece are foreseeing the next round of Cyprus reunification talks will be organized in the next month and diplomatic preparations related to the talks aiming to reunify long-divided Cyprus are expected to be assessed.
In addition to the Cyprus issue, the latest developments in the Middle East, including Syrian refugees, are supposed to have a role in the topics of the visit. In efforts to overcome the Cyprus dispute, the Geneva Summit, which was described by officials as the "best opportunity" to successfully finalize the reunification of the island on creating a two-state federation, had initially convened on Jan. 12. However, the meeting in Geneva failed to accomplish a mutual agreement on the island. In a press conference organized by Guterres with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last month, the U.N. Secretary General had addressed the Cyprus talks, stating that, "We are working hard in order to resolve the issue, we are close to agree upon a federal state where the rights of both sides are guaranteed but we also need instruments to implement it."
Meanwhile, last week the Turkish Cypriot leader stressed that they would go their own way if the two sides did not reach a fair agreement this year, while criticizing the Greek Cypriot side over the"revocation of Turkey's guarantorship."
Akıncı also underlined that although no consensus has been reached yet over territorial changes, talks over the Cyprus issue were nearing an end. Half a dozen topics remain to reach a consensus on, and that is yet to be achieved by both sides. Once a final agreement is reached, it would be put to both Cypriot communities in a referendum. The Turkish Cypriot leader has said a reunification vote could be held in mid-2017 pending agreement in Geneva. Cyprus was divided into two parts, with the Turkish Cypriot state in the north and the Greek Cypriot administration in the south, after the 1974 military coup which resulted in Turkish intervention as a guarantor power. In 2004, a peace deal was approved by Turkish Cypriots but rejected by Greek Cypriot voters.