The Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party (DP), a partner in the administration in the north, has expressed hope that UN Secretary-General António Guterres' visit will produce constructive results for the negotiating process and help strengthen peace, mutual trust and stability in Cyprus.
In a written statement, DP General Secretary Serhat Akpınar called on the United Nations to move beyond its mediating role and take on what he described as a leading role in implementing commitments made in the past to the Turkish Cypriot community.
Akpınar spoke of unfulfilled international commitments and decisions, as well as political, economic and international "injustices" he said the Turkish Cypriot "people" had suffered. He argued that fulfilling past promises is essential to restoring trust in the international community.
The DP general secretary described the 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan as a significant turning point, noting that although the Turkish Cypriot community voted in favour of the plan, commitments to lift the community's so-called "isolation" were never fulfilled.
He said the United Nations bears responsibility for helping remove obstacles relating to political equality, "sovereign rights," and direct contact between Turkish Cypriots and the international community. A lasting solution, Akpınar argued, should be built on equality, mutual respect, security and the "sovereign will of the two peoples."
He added that a show of neutrality from the United Nations, combined with the activation of confidence-building mechanisms to fulfil past international commitments, could help revive hope in Cyprus, and stressed the importance of Guterres' meeting with Tufan Erhürman.
'The start of a process toward a solution'
For her part, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Sıla Usar İncirli said Guterres' visit should mark the beginning of a step-by-step process leading to the resumption of negotiations on a Cyprus settlement.
Usar İncirli noted that the Cyprus problem has been on the UN's agenda for more than half a century, referring to former Secretaries-General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, the last UN chief to visit the island before now.
She said that, 16 years on, a UN Secretary-General is returning to Cyprus with the aim of reviving efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, adding that the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy has for some time been holding diplomatic contacts with the parties involved and the guarantor powers, laying the political and technical groundwork for the visit.
Asked why now, the CTP leader said it was understandable that Guterres would wish to leave behind a "legacy of peace" before the end of his term. She argued, however, that the key factor giving the UN the political motivation to act was the reaffirmation of the Turkish Cypriot community's will for a solution, following Tufan Erhürman's election to the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community in October 2025.
Usar İncirli also linked developments on the Cyprus problem to the wider geopolitical situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, arguing that a solution could help shape a new regional architecture of peace, security, stability and shared prosperity.
She said the experience of previous negotiating processes points to the need for a different approach, one that is innovative, results-oriented and time-limited, while producing concrete progress and confidence-building measures. The CTP leader voiced support for a bicommunal, bizonal federal solution with political equality, without, she said, putting Turkish Cypriots' political equality and security at risk.
She concluded by expressing confidence in António Guterres' determination and leadership, saying his visit should not be treated as a last-ditch effort or a farewell, but as the beginning of a process that will lead, step by step, to a solution.
