The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to present a proposal to restart the Cyprus peace process during a dinner meeting with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders at the UN headquarters in New York.
Sources in New York and Nicosia suggest Guterres will propose a two-phase approach to revive negotiations.
The first phase would involve leader-level meetings, potentially with UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar present, focusing on internal governance issues.
The second phase would expand to a conference including the three guarantor powers—Greece, Turkey, and the UK—to address the contentious topics of security and guarantees.
This proposal reportedly prepared in August, is based on an informal document drafted by Holguin earlier this year. The UN appears to favour starting discussions with governance issues, which are of particular interest to the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot sides.
The Greek Cypriot side is primarily concerned with international aspects, including security, guarantees, and troop withdrawal. Notably, following President Christodoulides’ recent visit to London, it appears that Britain wishes to participate in any new international conference on Cyprus, opposing Turkey’s suggestion of a four-party format.
The UN reportedly prefers a five-party conference, believing Turkey’s involvement is crucial for progress. Diplomatic sources indicate that the UN estimates Ankara may see potential benefits in other areas, such as with the European Union, from positive developments on Cyprus.
The outcome of the New York meeting, scheduled for 02:00 Cyprus time, will be pivotal. It remains unclear whether Guterres will present his proposal orally or in writing, and whether he will request immediate responses from Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
The dinner, starting at 19:00 New York time, will be attended by Guterres, Christodoulides, and Tatar, with their respective delegations present on the same floor.
Both Christodoulides and Tatar are expected to make statements following the meeting. However, any statement from Guterres or the UN is likely to attract significant attention, though no such announcement has been confirmed yet.
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