UN Secretary-General to Visit Cyprus to Push for Reunification

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Cyprus at the end of July to push for negotiations on the reunification of the island. The visit marks the first trip by a UN chief to the country in 16 years, according to a report by the newspaper Politis on Thursday, citing diplomatic sources. The last UN Secretary-General to visit Cyprus was Ban Ki-moon, who made an official trip to the island in January 2010. According to the report, Guterres is scheduled to hold a joint meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on 29 July. The meeting will be followed by a joint press conference, where significant announcements regarding the Cyprus issue are expected. Guterres will be accompanied by UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. Cyprus has been de facto divided between the Greek and Turkish communities since 1974, following an armed invasion by Turkey triggered by a coup and an attempt to annex the island to Greece. Thirty-seven percent of the island’s territory was occupied, leading to the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983, which is recognised only by Turkey. UN-mediated talks between the Greek and Turkish communities on reunification stalled after the failure of a round of negotiations held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017. Efforts are currently underway to resume the negotiations.