The United Nations’ engagement on Cyprus entered a critical phase this week as Khassim Diagne, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNFICYP, briefed the UN Security Council on the latest developments and two key reports by Antonio Guterres, ahead of the Council’s decision on renewing the peacekeeping mission’s mandate later this month.
UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus and head of the UN peace keeping force on the island (UNFICYP), Κhassim Diagne, briefed on Thursday the UN Security Council in closed consultations, on the content of the two reports of the Secretary-General.
Following the briefing, Diagne did not make statements regarding the outcome of the consultations. Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he said that “we are still at a premature stage.”
The UN Security Council meeting to renew the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force UNFICYP is scheduled for Thursday, 29 January.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, recommended the renewal of UNFICYP mandate for a further 12 months, until 31 January 2027, while expressing in his Report on UNFICYP strong concern over in and around the buffer zone and also reiterates his concern regarding the situation in the fenced-off area of Varosha.
In the Report on his mission of Good Offices in Cyprus, Guterres said that the informal meetings in a broader format held in 2025 and the contacts between the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the new Turkish Cypriot leader “demonstrated that there is a new moment of opportunity to move forward on the Cyprus issue.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.
Source: CNA