UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres Is Paying an Official Visit to the Republic of Cyprus on 27-29 July

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is paying an official visit to the Republic of Cyprus on 27-29 July. Guterres, who is eager to initiate a new process for the solution of the Cyprus problem, is expected to meet with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides and hold a tripartite meeting during this visit. It is now possible to follow the agenda on BBC Turkish on WhatsApp.

Ankara, which is cautious about the participation of the European Union in the process, reiterated its emphasis on the "two-state solution" in its last message before Guterres' visit. Guterres, who is expected to travel to the island on July 27 after his visit to Syria, is expected to meet first with Cypriot President Nikos Hristodulidis and then with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman on July 28. According to foreign affairs sources, in Hakan Fidan's telephone conversation with Guterres on July 26, regional developments were discussed within the framework of the secretary general's visits to Syria and Cyprus. The UN Secretary General will make statements to the press after holding a tripartite meeting with the two leaders on the morning of July 29. Guterres will be the first UN Secretary-General to come to the island in 16 years.

The last visit to the island was made by the then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2010. It is known that the main purpose of this visit by Guterres, whose term of office will expire at the end of the year, is to initiate a new process between the parties for the solution of the Cyprus problem, which has been going on for half a century. It is noted that after his contacts on the island, Guterres aims to organize a new 5+1 format conference in the autumn with the participation of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides, as well as the guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom, and to bring the process to a more concrete stage. The last meeting in this format was held in New York in July 2025. The UN has recently carried out two important processes for the solution of the Cyprus problem, but could not achieve any results.

The "Annan Plan", developed in 2004 under the leadership of then-Secretary General Kofi Annan, failed because the Greek Cypriot side voted "no" in the referendum. The attempt made in Crans Montana, Switzerland, in 2017, which included the reunification of the island within the scope of a federal solution, also failed. After this initiative, Turkey declared that it would no longer negotiate a federal solution with the Greek Cypriot side, which it held responsible for the failure of the Crans Montana process, and that if there was a negotiation to be held, it should be on the "two-state" basis.

It is noted that Guterres aims to bring together the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides again within the scope of a federal solution plan, within the scope of his initiatives, which have increased in intensity recently. Images) Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, the Secretary-General's "personal" Special Representative for Cyprus, has tried to bring the parties closer to this point in her contacts since she took office in 2024. In the elections held on the Turkish Cypriot side last year, Tufan Erhürman, who was considered to be more moderate on the solution issue than his predecessor Ersin Tatar, became the president. It is noted that this result caused the UN to intensify its initiatives.

It was reported in the Greek Cypriot press in June that Guterres' representative Holguin Cuellar had prepared a draft solution plan to bring the parties closer to a solution on a federal basis. The plan includes the creation of a single international structure formed by the two founding states, with its management shared by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides. It is noted that the plan includes elements such as the Turkish Cypriot side returning some lands, especially the closed Maraş region, and providing direct trade, direct flight and direct contact rights to the Turkish Cypriot side.

It was also reported in the press that the Greek Cypriot side wanted NATO membership or a similar mechanism to be established instead of the guarantor system within the scope of security. It is noted that the ideas contained in the news, which are not categorically denied by the UN, were not presented to the parties in an official context. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman also stated in his statements to the press that there was no plan, only some thoughts were expressed.

Diplomatic sources in Ankara note that no official letter or document has been presented by the UN. They state that they observe that the work carried out by the special representative is close to the "loose federation model". Ankara's reaction to the solution plan, which the UN did not reject, was given by the Ministry of Defense.

At the information meeting held on June 25, ministry sources made a statement regarding the allegations in the press and reiterated that a "permanent, fair and sustainable" solution on the island is only possible on the basis of a two-state solution based on the confirmation of the "sovereign equality and equal international status" of the Turkish Cypriots. "No initiative put forward by ignoring this fundamental fact will neither reflect the will of the Turkish Cypriot people nor provide permanent stability in the region, the statement said. Ankara, which has a close relationship with UN Secretary-General Guterres, aims to emphasize its priorities and raise its methodological sensitivities regarding a possible new process, rather than rejecting the process completely."