Cyprus this week hosts outgoing U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who will become the first head of the international body to visit the divided island in 16 years. The visit is significant as Greek Cypriots appear to be pushing for a solution to the decades-old division, although it may not be one acceptable to Turkish Cypriots.
Guterres' first stop on the Mediterranean island will be a laboratory where teams work to identify the remains and determine the whereabouts of people who went missing during past hostilities between the two sides. On Tuesday, he will hold separate talks with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides. He will later meet both leaders together in the island's buffer zone on Wednesday.
The U.N. chief's visit aims to encourage both sides to adopt confidence-building measures and find common ground to advance the stalled talks. Ahead of the visit, Guterres' special envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, held talks with Erhürman and was scheduled to meet Christodoulides later on Monday. Cuellar told reporters that her meeting with Erhürman was "fruitful." She said the main purpose of Guterres' visit was to continue the U.N.'s good offices mission in Cyprus and help pave the way for the resumption of comprehensive talks between the two sides.
Turkish and Greek Cypriots have failed to achieve any significant progress in resolving the decades-old Cyprus question, as their positions differ sharply. The TRNC advocates a two-state solution based on sovereign equality, while the Greek Cypriot side favors a federal model. Türkiye, one of the island's guarantor states, supports the TRNC's position. Ahead of the visit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with Guterres on Sunday.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the U.N. chief's visit will precede a planned conference involving the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides and the guarantor states – Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom – this autumn. The last such meeting was held in New York last year.
The United Nations has led two major initiatives to resolve the Cyprus question over the past two decades. The first was the so-called Annan Plan, named after former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which was introduced in 2004. Greek Cypriots rejected the plan in a referendum, while Turkish Cypriots approved it. In 2017, the United Nations launched the Crans-Montana process, which sought a federal solution to the dispute. That effort also failed and significantly changed the positions of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot side. Ankara and Lefkoşa blamed the Greek Cypriot side for the collapse of the talks and shifted from their previously cautious support for a federal model to a firm stance in favor of the TRNC's sovereignty. Since taking office in 2024, Cuellar has sought to bridge the gap between the parties through her diplomatic contacts.
Erhürman, who succeeded Ersin Tatar last year, has been viewed as less hardline than his predecessor, but he has repeatedly made it clear that he would oppose any federation proposal that ignores the rights of Turkish Cypriots. He was quoted on Sunday as saying that they were ready for "a new process" following Guterres' visit. Erhürman also stressed that, as in the past, they would consult with Türkiye before moving forward with any new initiative aimed at resolving the dispute.
Greek Cypriot media outlets have previously reported that the United Nations was working on a settlement plan based on a federal framework, with governance shared by the two sides while granting greater international recognition to the TRNC. Responding to those reports, Ankara, through a statement issued by the Defense Ministry, reiterated that any solution to the Cyprus dispute must be based on recognition of the Turkish Cypriots' sovereign equality and equal international status.
