United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced Wednesday that he will convene a new expanded 5+1 meeting on the Cyprus issue after sufficient preparation on confidence-building measures, methodology, and the substance of the negotiations, signaling a renewed effort to restart formal peace talks on the divided island.
Speaking after separate and joint meetings with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman at the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia, Guterres said he had secured the agreement of both sides, as well as the three guarantor powers—Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom—to move toward a new round of talks.
However, he stressed that the meeting would only take place after careful preparation.
“I do not want to have more 5+1 meetings without results,” Guterres said, adding that no date has yet been set.
The UN chief described resolving the Cyprus issue as essential not only for the island’s people but also for regional stability at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East.
Christodoulides: Negotiations would not begin “from zero”
President Christodoulides welcomed Guterres’ initiative, saying the UN secretary-general remains fully committed to Security Council resolutions that envision a bizonal, bicommunal federation as the basis for a settlement. He said work would begin immediately with the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, and European Commission Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto to prepare for the expanded meeting.
Christodoulides emphasized that negotiations would not begin “from zero,” noting that previous convergences and the existing negotiating framework remain in place. He also confirmed that the substantive aspects of the Cyprus problem were discussed during Tuesday’s meetings.
Guterres urged both leaders to intensify work on confidence-building measures and called for continued respect for the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), particularly within the buffer zone and along the ceasefire lines.
The proposed 5+1 format brings together the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders alongside the island’s three guarantor powers—Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom—with the United Nations facilitating the process.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island following a coup backed by Greece’s military junta. Numerous UN-led efforts to reunify the island have failed over the past five decades, including negotiations at Crans-Montana in 2017 and subsequent meetings in Geneva, New York, and Geneva again in 2024 and 2025.
Guterres’ visit marked the first by a serving UN secretary-general to Cyprus in 16 years, underscoring renewed international efforts to revive negotiations after years of diplomatic deadlock.
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