Stefanos Evripidou and Andreas Athanasiou are covering the UN S.G. visit live from the Presidential Palace.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday morning, where he was received by President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides, as part of renewed efforts to advance the Cyprus problem. A meeting between Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman also took place.
Presidential Palace meeting
The meeting between Christodoulides and Guterres forms part of the UN's broader effort to maintain momentum on the Cyprus problem, ahead of separate contacts the secretary-general is holding with both sides of the island.
From the Greek Cypriot side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, Government Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis, Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President Doros Venizelos, and Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna. Also present was Cyprus's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Maria Michael.
UN delegation
Guterres is accompanied on his visit by a senior UN delegation, including Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and Maria Angela Holguín Cuéllar, the secretary-general's Personal Envoy on the Cyprus problem. The delegation also includes Khassim Diagne, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), and Ruth Sigalas, an official with the UN mission in Cyprus, along with the coordinator of Guterres's trip.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had just landed in Cyprus, posting on X that he was there to express his commitment to supporting Cypriot communities in the search for a comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus problem. He added that the United Nations cannot impose peace and that only Cypriots, through their leaders, can build it.
Foreign minister's welcome
Kombos welcomed Guterres on his arrival in Cyprus on Monday evening. In a post on X, accompanied by photographs of the reception, the foreign minister said it was an honour to welcome the UN secretary-general to Cyprus.
Meeting with Turkish-Cypriot Leader Tufan Erhurman
UN Secretary-General António Guterres held his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman in the north.
The two leader-level meetings will be followed by a joint dinner hosted by the UN secretary-general, ahead of a trilateral meeting between Guterres, Christodoulides and Erhürman scheduled for Wednesday. Erhürman had said ahead of the visit that he welcomed Guterres' initiative and would "continue to contribute" to the secretary-general's efforts with sincerity, describing the visit as significant given it marks the first time in 16 years that a UN chief has met both Cypriot leaders on the island.
