Guterres rules out 5+1 meeting on Cyprus at UN General Assembly

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that no meetings on the Cyprus settlement in the 5+1 and 3+1 formats would take place during the upcoming session of the General Assembly in New York. According to him, “a lot of work remains to be done” before this can happen.

Guterres spoke to journalists six days before the opening of the session. Answering a question about whether the conditions he outlined in July for such a meeting to be held successfully had been met, the UN chief confirmed that there would be no talks at the General Assembly.

At the same time, he stressed that the UN intends to move the process forward: “We are fully determined to advance the cause and will do whatever is necessary to do so once the required conditions have been met.” Guterres added that the mistakes of the past must not be repeated.

The UN chief based his assessment on the outcome of recent consultations with the UN Personal Envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguín.

The 5+1 format is an informal meeting involving the two sides in Cyprus, the three guarantor countries — Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom — and the UN. Separately, on 17 September, talks between Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides will take place in the UN buffer zone.