Fidan discusses Cyprus issue with UN envoy
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met today in Ankara with María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, the personal envoy of UN Secretary-General António Guterres for Cyprus, to discuss recent developments regarding the Cyprus issue, CE Report quotes BTA.
The two officials also reviewed Holguín’s meetings with the leaders of the island’s two communities last week, according to a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
During the meeting, Fidan reiterated Ankara’s support for Guterres’ efforts and stressed that Türkiye, as a guarantor state and the homeland of the Turkish Cypriot community, considers a two-state solution on the island to be the most realistic approach to resolving the Cyprus issue.
Fidan also emphasized that any approach that fails to recognize what Turkey views as the inalienable rights of the Turkish Cypriot people — namely sovereign equality and equal international status based on the realities on the island — would not produce results.
Last week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ special envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, held separate meetings on the island with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman. Following the talks, she announced that the United Nations is preparing a new 5+1 meeting on Cyprus, expected to take place in July or August.
The 5+1 format brings together the leaders of the two Cypriot communities — Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots — along with representatives of the three guarantor powers, Greece, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey took control of more than one-third of the island following a coup aimed at unification with Greece. In 1983, the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was established in the northern part of the island. It is recognized only by Turkey. Numerous rounds of reunification negotiations have failed to produce a settlement, with the most recent talks collapsing in 2017.
