Guterres Left, Disputes Remain: Why the UN Secretary-General’s Visit Divided Northern Cyprus

Some in the TRNC are talking about a new chance for negotiations, while others are convinced that no real breakthrough has taken place. On 30 July, the EU special representative will arrive on the island, and he may influence the further course of the talks.

Following UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s visit, Cyprus is no closer to a final settlement of the conflict, but it has seen a new wave of political disputes.

Tufan Erhürman, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, called the secretary-general’s trip the beginning of a new stage in the negotiations. His opponents see it differently: bold statements were made, but there are still no concrete results.

No Date, but Hope

Guterres visited the island for the first time in 16 years. After meeting with the leaders of the two communities, he announced his intention to convene a new conference in the «5+1» format, but did not set a date. According to him, the sides must first make progress on confidence-building measures and agree on the methodology for the negotiations.

Erhürman considers this approach the right one. In his view, previous negotiations reached an impasse because the sides arrived unprepared. Now, he believes, real agreements must come first. The Turkish Cypriot leader also proposed holding weekly meetings with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.

Old Problems Have Not Disappeared

One of the most widely discussed issues was the case of Turkish Cypriot diplomat Yaşı Yeşilada, whom the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus summoned for questioning during Guterres’s visit.

Erhürman said that such actions undermine trust between the sides and make discussions about opening new crossing points meaningless if people begin to fear crossing the «Green Line». He also raised the issues of property disputes, the citizenship of children from mixed marriages, and the international isolation of Turkish Cypriots.

The North Is Divided in Its Assessment

The Republican Turkish Party backed Erhürman, saying that the visit had created a «window of opportunity» for advancing the negotiations.

However, former negotiators Kudret Özersay and Özdil Nami assessed the outcome much more harshly. In their view, if the sides are able to agree on confidence-building measures on their own, the secretary-general’s visit has changed nothing fundamentally. Nami also criticised Guterres’s statement, calling it too vague and internally contradictory.

Turkey Is Not Changing Course

Amid the discussions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again confirmed that Ankara would continue seeking recognition of the Turkish Cypriots’ «sovereign equality» and would not support initiatives that ignore this position. He also reaffirmed plans to build an undersea gas pipeline to the northern part of the island.

Now It Is the European Union’s Turn

On 30 July, EU Special Representative Raffaele Fitto will arrive in Cyprus. He will meet with Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhürman to discuss further steps towards a settlement of the Cyprus issue.

At the same time, Erhürman has already made it clear that he does not regard the European Union as a full participant in the future «5+1» format. According to him, the sides have not yet been presented with any ready-made plans — only possible options for the future process are being discussed.

That is why the main question after Guterres’s visit remains open: was it the beginning of a genuine relaunch of the negotiations, or yet another diplomatic effort that risks ending without any tangible result?