According to Greek diplomatic sources, the meeting took place in the wake of the unanimous renewal by the UN Security Council of the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), for which Greece has made strenuous efforts as an elected member of the Security Council.

For her part, DiCarlo said that the Secretary-General is committed to the Cyprus problem and is seeking tangible results, the same sources note. Moreover, she thanked Greece for the country’s constructive role within the UN Security Council and briefed Gerapetritis on the preparations for the upcoming informal five-party meeting.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

On October 15, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted an informal dinner with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York, encouraging “the leaders to consider how to bridge the gap in their positions and rebuild trust to allow movement leading to a settlement.”

At the meeting, President Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to have an informal meeting in a broader format in the near future, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to discuss the way forward. They also agreed to have a meeting in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings. A first such meeting took place on January 20, 2025. DiCarlo visited Cyprus on Monday and Tuesday and had contacts on the island concerning the informal five-party meeting. After Athens, she is expected to pay a visit to Ankara on Thursday.