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Türkiye's top diplomat to visit Northern Cyprus ahead of informal UN talks

Turkish Cypriots, backed by Ankara, maintain that the international community must recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for a fair and sustainable resolution that aligns with the island's realities.

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Türkiye, as the Guarantor State, has consistently pursued efforts to ensure the security, development, and prosperity of the Turkish Cypriot people. / Photo: AA Archive

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to discuss recent developments regarding the contested island.

During the January 8-9 visit, the top diplomat is expected to hold consultations with TRNC authorities regarding an informal meeting planned in Switzerland under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General.

The highly-anticipated meeting will bring together TRNC President Ersin Tatar, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, and representatives of Türkiye, Greece, and the United Kingdom to discuss a sustainable resolution to the long-standing dispute.

Türkiye, as the Turkish Guarantor State, fully supports a two-state solution and has consistently pursued efforts to ensure the Turkish Cypriot people's security, development, and prosperity.

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Demand for equal international status

The Cyprus issue has gained renewed momentum in recent months, with the UN acknowledging that a shared foundation for formal negotiations has not been established despite earlier mediation efforts.

On October 15, 2024, the two Cypriot leaders attended an informal dinner in New York hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Guterres said the two leaders agreed on some constructive next steps during the dinner, adding that he urged the two sides to rebuild trust to allow movement leading to a settlement.

At the informal 5+UN meeting held in Geneva from 27 to 29 April 2021, the Turkish Cypriot side, led by TRNC President Tatar, announced its withdrawal of support for the bi-communal and bi-zonal federation model following half a century of negotiation failures.

Instead, it presented a two-state solution and underlined that the international community must first recognise the inherent rights of Turkish Cypriots to sovereign equality and equal international status for successful negotiations.

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Decades-long Cyprus problem

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 of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC 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 that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.