Security Council backs UN chief's proposal for new envoy in Cyprus for engagement

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN Security Council expressed support for a new envoy in Cyprus to lead further engagement to resolve the decades-long dispute on the divided island.

It came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggested that an important step forward would be an agreement on an appointment of a UN envoy, who could explore ways to reach common ground toward resuming talks for a lasting settlement in Cyprus in his latest report obtained by Anadolu Agency.

In a joint statement, the Security Council encouraged renewed engagement on the island following recent elections.

It also urged both sides to seize this "window of opportunity" including by taking tangible steps and implementing other gestures of goodwill to promote a conducive climate.

The Security Council called on all sides to show openness, flexibility and compromise with the goal of returning to formal negotiations to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement based on a "bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality".

The Council also stressed the need to avoid unilateral actions that could raise tensions on the island and undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement.

Guterres said in the report that a peaceful and shared future on the divided island of Cyprus "truly remains possible" through meaningful and results-oriented negotiations.

Guterres commended the governments of Greece and Türkiye for the positive shift in relations and urged the two leaders in Cyprus to re-engage in talks to resolve the decades-long dispute.

Guterres said the underlying positions of the two sides on the peace process remained far apart, but the first face-to-face meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar was a "positive step" in establishing a connection.

"The continued absence of substantive dialogue on issues related to the peace process between the two sides continues to deepen the differences of views on the way forward," said Guterres. "At the same time, the division between the communities also continues to grow wider.''

He encouraged both sides to take opportunities to build trust and good ties with meaningful initiatives.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a plan by former UN chief Kofi Annan to end the longstanding dispute.