Key facts
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to convene a multi-party meeting on Cyprus.
- The meeting will include Greece, Britain, and Turkey, the island's guarantor powers.
- The goal is to define a way forward for resolving the island's division.
- Guterres made the announcement during a rare visit to Cyprus.
- Previous peace talks mediated by Guterres in 2017 collapsed.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced plans to convene a multi-party meeting on the division of Cyprus, aiming to define a path forward for resolving the island's decades-old conflict. Guterres, on a rare visit to the divided capital, stated his intention to hold another "five-plus-one" meeting after adequate preparations concerning confidence-building measures, methodology, and substance.
The meeting will include Greece, Britain, and Turkey, which hold guarantor status for Cyprus's independence. This initiative comes amid renewed efforts to resume formal peace talks after a nearly decade-long hiatus, with the last major U.N.-mediated push collapsing in 2017.
Guterres expressed his commitment to supporting both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots during this critical juncture. A peace deal for Cyprus holds potential benefits beyond the island, including unlocking the eastern Mediterranean's natural gas resources for Europe and easing regional tensions.
However, significant hurdles remain. Decades of U.N.-mediated talks have failed to bridge the divide, with positions hardening over time. Turkish Cypriots advocate for a two-state solution, while Greek Cypriots reject any partition that would formally divide the island and maintain a Turkish military presence.
Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but only the internationally recognized southern part benefits from full membership, as the northern third, declared independent in 1983, is recognized only by Turkey, which maintains a significant troop presence there.