Ahead of critical informal talks on the future of the divided island, U.N. head Antonio Guterres met the rival Cypriot leaders for dinner on Monday.
Guterres sat down to dine in Geneva with Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, a U.N. spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, the three will meet for talks at the U.N., alongside Britain, Greece and Türkiye – the three guarantors of the Mediterranean island’s security since 1960.
“This meeting is being held in the context of the secretary-general’s good offices’ efforts on the Cyprus issue,” the U.N. spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The informal meeting will provide an opportunity for a meaningful discussion on the way forward.”
All five convened delegations were at Monday’s dinner, she said.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.’s Annan plan to end the decadeslong dispute, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.
The status of the island remains unresolved in spite of a series of negotiations over the years.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration supported a federation in Cyprus, Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) insisted on a two-state solution that reflected the realities of the island.
‘More efforts’
Tatar on Monday told Guterres more effort must be exerted to solve the problems of Cyprus.
Speaking to journalists following the dinner, Tatar said that the Cyprus question is a long-standing issue and that the U.N. must address it positively.
“We are focusing right now on the close cooperation of both sides. I always say that we must forget the past and look to the future. We have to focus on how we can shape our nation through our efforts and values and how we can look forward constructively. Türkiye’s support is vital for us,” he added.
He said that cultural cooperation on the island is essential.
‘Absolute seriousness’
Meanwhile, in a televised address on Saturday, Christodoulides said he was heading to Geneva “with absolute seriousness and to conduct a substantive discussion that will pave the way for the resumption of negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue.”
“We are ready and well prepared to be constructive … to engage in meaningful discussions, and to achieve an outcome that will keep the process active,” he said.
Christodoulides held a national council meeting of Greek Cypriot political party leaders in Geneva on Monday.
“There is consensus, a constructive spirit of unity, and a shared goal: to ensure that this multilateral conference serves as a springboard toward breaking the deadlock and restarting negotiations,” Greek Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis told reporters afterward.
“We are preparing for multiple scenarios, ensuring that the president has concrete initiatives and proposals in every case.”
Nameplates set out
Following the dinner, the talks proper are set to begin on Tuesday at the U.N. Palace of Nations.
Nameplates had been set out, with Guterres on one side of the central table, opposite the two Cypriot leaders, who will sit next to each other.
Flanking Guterres, nameplates were set out for Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and Britain’s Europe Minister Stephen Doughty.
In October last year, Guterres hosted an informal dinner with Christodoulides and Tatar in New York.
The rival Cypriot leaders also met in January to discuss opening more crossing points across the divided island as part of trust-building efforts.
They met in the buffer zone that has split the island for decades.
The conflict has long been on the agenda of the U.N., which has kept a peacekeeping force on the island since 1964.
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Five decades of Cyprus talks have led nowhere.
In the early 1960s, ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
The TRNC was founded in 1983.
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