Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke by telephone late Tuesday about regional issues and cooperation between Ankara and the UN, as efforts continue to resume negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
The call came amid a UN initiative and diplomatic contacts aimed at creating conditions for an enlarged meeting on Cyprus later this summer.
UN initiative and diplomatic contacts
According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Fidan and Guterres discussed regional issues and cooperation between Ankara and the United Nations.
Two weeks earlier, Fidan signed a joint declaration with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in support of Guterres’ efforts on Cyprus. A new initiative by Guterres has been under way in recent months.
UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin is conducting contacts with stakeholders and is expected to hold meetings in Brussels in the coming days before returning to Cyprus before the end of the month.
Calls for renewed momentum
Last week, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to seize renewed momentum for a Cyprus settlement during a meeting on the sidelines of the Nato leaders’ summit in Ankara.
Holguin’s return to Cyprus is expected to focus in part on efforts to convene an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem this summer.
Such a meeting would involve the two sides on the island, the three guarantor powers of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. Both Cypriot leaders have said the meeting would not be an end in itself.
Next steps
Holguin has urged Cypriots to seize what she described as a historic opportunity to negotiate a lasting solution.
She said Guterres was evaluating possible next phases that could persuade both parties to take concrete steps toward a final solution.
