Erhürman backs UN secretary-general’s visit to Cyprus

President of the TRNC Tufan Erhürman welcomed UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s upcoming visit to Cyprus, calling it an important step towards advancing dialogue on the Cyprus issue.

In a social media post, Erhürman recalled that the Turkish Cypriot side had previously supported the UN chief’s efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem.

He said that, for the first time in 16 years, the UN secretary-general would visit the island and hold meetings with the leaders of the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots directly in Cyprus, giving the visit special significance.

Erhürman noted that since taking office, he had advocated discussing the Cyprus issue specifically in Lefkoşa, and considered the UN chief’s participation in this process the right decision.

He added that the talks were expected to address both confidence-building measures and António Guterres’s approach that “this time everything should be different”, expressed after the Crans-Montana conference.

According to Erhürman, the meetings would help the sides better understand each other’s positions and the UN’s assessment, while the Turkish Cypriot side would continue to support the secretary-general’s initiatives and participate in them in good faith.