UN chief to meet Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus president in New York

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to meet Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhurman on Wednesday in New York, a UN spokesperson said Monday.

"The meeting will be an opportunity to meet the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community for the first time and to discuss the Cyprus issue," Stephane Dujarric told a news conference.

Erhurman won the TRNC presidential election last October.

Dujarric also said that Guterres will also speak to Nikos Christodoulides, the Greek Cypriot Administration leader, "in due course."

The UN spokesperson's office also told Anadolu in a statement that Maria Angela Holguin, the UN Cyprus envoy, held a meeting with the leaders of the TRNC and the Greek Cypriots in the island’s UN-controlled buffer zone.

"She continues to work with both leaders, including toward progress on the agreed trust-building initiatives, particularly the opening of additional crossing points, as soon as possible," the statement added.

- Decades-long 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 European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.