UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is said to be planning a visit Cyprus later this month in a renewed effort to break the deadlock over the island’s decades-old division and pave the way for a resumption of peace talks, according to Cypriot media.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said Wednesday that significant developments on the Cyprus issue were expected in the coming days. The Cyprus News Agency later reported that Guterres could travel to Nicosia in late July, while Philenews said the visit had been decided and only the exact date remained to be finalized.
If confirmed, the trip would mark the first visit to Cyprus by a UN secretary-general since Ban Ki-moon traveled to the island in January 2010 for meetings with then-president Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in an effort to advance peace negotiations.
Ahead of the expected visit, the UN secretary-general’s special representative in Cyprus, Khassim Diagne, was due to brief the UN Security Council behind closed doors on the secretary-general’s latest reports on his good offices mission and the UN peacekeeping force on the island, according to Philenews.
European Union officials are also expected to visit Cyprus in the coming weeks as diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations gather pace, including European Commission envoy Raffaele Fitto, who is preparing contacts on the island and in the wider region.
