United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo has held extensive consultations in Turkey on a wide range of issues, including on a way forward on the Cyprus issue.

DiCarlo wrote on her account on ‘X’ that Turkey’s role as one of the three guarantor powers in the Cyprus context remains critical.

“Extensive consultations with Türkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay on a wide range of issues, including on a way forward on the Cyprus issue. Türkiye’s role as one of the three guarantor powers in the Cyprus context remains critical” she pointed out.

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 held a meeting in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings.