UN chief to convene Cyprus meeting in early March

Duvar English – Anadolu Agency

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Jan. 28 that he intends to convene a meeting with Cyprus parties in early March. 

The meeting will be informal without pre-conditions to allow the parties to see that there is a change in administration in Turkish Cyprus, Guterres said during his first news conference in 2021.

A new government was formed in Turkish Cyprus in December.

“It is my intention to convene early March a meeting of the 5+1. That meeting we decided to be an informal meeting without precondition… There are these changes in the administration of northern Cyprus. It is important that there is a chance for all the people to frankly discuss among themselves how they see the future and to see how to move forward,” he said.

The three guarantor powers, Turkey, Greece and the UK, are expected to be represented by their foreign ministers during the summit.

Guterres was asked whether he would insist on a bicommunal federation in line with previous Cyprus negotiations, or if he was open to new ideas, like that of Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar who has been favoring a two-state solution.

He said that his mandate from the Security Council with regards to the UN involvement in the negotiations refers explicitly to a bicommunal solution.

“Obviously this is not an impediment for the parties to present the positions they will present. I am always ready to go to the Security Council and if there is an agreement of the parties enlarging the scope of the negotiations, to be interpreted as a common agreement in this regard,” he said.

There has been no official UN-sponsored negotiation with regards to the future of Cyprus since a conference in Switzerland –- also involving Turkey, Greee and UK –- faltered in July 2017.