UN Secretary‑General Guterres to meet Cyprus leaders in July diplomatic visit

Antonio Guterres Cyprus dispute Greek Cypriot leader Turkish Cypriot leader UN diplomacy

UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres will travel to Cyprus on the evening of 27 July, accompanied by deputies Jean‑Pierre Lacroix and Rosemary DiCarlo and by the UN personal envoy for the Cyprus issue, Maria Angela Holguín. On 28 July he will hold separate talks with the Greek‑Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and the Turkish‑Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, lay a wreath at the UN monument in Ledra Palace, and visit the Missing Persons Committee’s anthropology lab. A joint leaders’ dinner, held at the residence of the UN Special Representative, will be held without media presence, after which Guterres will meet negotiators, bi‑communal technical committee members and civil‑society representatives. The visit, timed to the 52nd anniversary of the UN peace operation, aims to revive negotiations and may lead to an international conference on the Cyprus dispute.

In preparation, envoy Holguín will travel to Ankara on 26 July for a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and will hold talks in Brussels with EU officials on the Cyprus issue before joining Guterres in Cyprus.