Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will pay a working visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Friday, according to diplomatic sources.
During his visit, Fidan is expected to be received by TRNC President Tufan Erhurman and Prime Minister Unal Ustel.
He will also meet with Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu.
The meetings will address bilateral issues and recent developments on the Cyprus issue, the sources said.
Türkiye continues its efforts, in its capacity as the island's motherland and guarantor state, to ensure the security, development and prosperity of the Turkish Cypriot people, while supporting their right to live freely and prosperously on the island as equal partners, the sources said.
Ankara maintains that the most realistic solution to the Cyprus issue is the coexistence of two states on the island and that the sovereign equality and equal international status of Turkish Cypriots, which it considers their inherent rights, should be recognised by the international community.
Türkiye argues that the Cyprus issue has remained unresolved primarily because the Greek Cypriot side has refused to recognise the inherent rights of Turkish Cypriots and has been unwilling to share political power and economic prosperity with them.
Erdogan’s recognition call
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the international community to recognise the TRNC without delay in his addresses to the UN General Assembly during its high-level weeks since 2022.
Following an informal trilateral dinner in New York on October 15, 2024, between UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the two leaders on the island, the UN said there was no common ground between the sides for a final settlement of the Cyprus issue under the prevailing circumstances.
At Guterres' suggestion, a process was launched in 2025 to identify areas of cooperation that could benefit both communities on the island and build trust by fostering a culture of cooperation.
The first informal meeting in an expanded format, hosted by Guterres and attended by the two leaders, as well as the foreign ministers of Türkiye and Greece, was held in Geneva on March 17-18, 2025. The participants identified six areas of cooperation for further work.
A second meeting in a similar format was held in New York on July 16-17, 2025, to review progress made on the agreed areas.
However, no progress has been achieved on key issues, including the opening of new crossing points.
New initiative
Guterres visited the island for the first time on July 27-29, holding separate and joint meetings with the two leaders.
In a statement following the meetings, he said efforts on the agreed areas of cooperation needed to be intensified and announced that a meeting in a 5+1 format would be organised following the necessary preparations.
He added, however, that he did not want a meeting that would fail to produce results.
Guterres most recently held separate meetings with the two leaders on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st UN General Assembly.
Meanwhile, Guterres' personal envoy on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, is visiting the island from October 29 to November 10.
As part of her visit, Holguin met separately with Greek-administered Cyprus leader Nikos Christodoulides on October 30 and TRNC President Erhurman on November 2.
