There is a flurry of activity in the region ahead of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ visit to Cyprus on Monday, where he will try to coax the sides towards preparing the ground for the launch of formal peace talks.
UN Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín will be in Ankara on Friday to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, after having met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Special Representative for Cyprus Raffaele Fitto in Brussels on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Holguín spoke with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on the phone. The same day, Fitto had separate phone calls with President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.
According to Christodoulides, Fitto will likely come to Cyprus after Guterres’ visit.
The president will convene the National Council on Friday morning at 10am to brief parliamentary party leaders on the latest developments. By Saturday morning, he will be in Athens to coordinate with Greek Prime Minister Kyriacos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion ahead of Guterres’ visit to the island.
According to sources, Holguín will return to Cyprus on Saturday following her meeting with the Turkish FM and arrange to meet with the two leaders before the UN chief’s arrival on Monday.
First Syria, then Cyprus
Guterres who will arrive for his first and likely last visit to the island as UN chief. The outgoing UNSG will come from Syria – via Jordan – where he will meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Damascus.
According to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, while there, Guterres will take the opportunity to “underscore the importance of respecting Syria’s sovereignty, its unity and its territorial integrity”.
In Cyprus, he will meet the two leaders separately on Tuesday morning before visiting the Committee on Missing Persons in the UN Protected Area at the old Nicosia airport. Guterres will then meet with the two negotiators and the co-chairs of the technical committees, after which he will attend a reception with representatives of civil society. In the evening, he will host a dinner for Christodoulides and Erhürman.
On Wednesday, Guterres will hold a trilateral with the two leaders before holding a press conference and then departing the island.
Depending on the outcome of the various efforts at different levels, Guterres will hope to see and hear enough to be able to convene a new 5+1 meeting in September, likely in New York after the UN General Assembly. The goal would be to see the launch of peace talks after a nine-year hiatus before his term ends in December.
Erhürman keeps expectations in check
In a live broadcast on KIBRIS TV, Tufan Erhürman said the UNSG’s visit to Cyprus should neither be viewed as a ‘farewell tour’ nor as a sign that everything has been resolved and he is coming for a solution. Both approaches are wrong, he said.
On the current process, the Turkish Cypriot leader differentiated between the ‘discussions’ phase and the ‘negotiating table’, highlighting that the sides are currently engaged in discussions on confidence-building measures (CBMs) and the methodology of a new process. Substantive issues related to a comprehensive settlement will be discussed if and when they launch negotiations, not before, he argued.
“We have not even come close to the negotiating table,” he said.
Focus on CBMs and methodology
Erhürman pointed to the fact Guterres and his team will meet with the technical committees, saying this demonstrates that CBMs remain on the UN agenda.
The Turkish Cypriot leader expressed hope the visit would produce concrete results regarding CBMs and also help determine whether there is common ground on his four-point methodology for formal talks.
On CBMs, he referred to measures on crossing points, sports and citizenship rights that could help build trust between the two communities.
He repeated the view that the Turkish Cypriot side would not go to a 5+1 just for the sake of going. There needs to be clarity that announcements on certain issues can be made at such a meeting, he said.
“Unlike Mr Christodoulides, I would not choose to draw red lines before the Secretary-General arrives. Nor do I think that is good diplomacy. We will see what the atmosphere produces,” he added.
On the Greek Cypriot position that talks should continue from the point they left off at Crans-Montana, he asked, if that is the intention, why was the table abandoned at that point?
“Returning to the same place to discuss again something that was not accepted will not produce a different result.”
Erhürman also warned Christodoulides against trying to push the Turkish Cypriots to the background so the Greek Cypriots can engage directly with Turkey, noting the Turkish Cypriots are his interlocutors.
On the various ideas circulating about different approaches to a settlement, the Turkish Cypriot leader said the UN personal envoy raised ideas in her contacts – some were meaningful and creative, others unacceptable or required further consideration. But for now, they are just that, ideas, not a blueprint for a solution, he said.
