United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Tuesday with Cypriot leaders to gauge whether they are ready to accept a renewed effort to end the island’s 52-year-old division.
Guterres met separately with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman and then dined with both Tuesday evening at the headquarters of the UN Special Envoy for Cyprus.
But it will not be until Wednesday, after meetings that include other UN officials, that Guterres will be able to determine whether there is enough promise of a progress to make an official statement.
Both Christodoulides and Erhurman publicly expressed support for Guterres’ efforts to kickstart a process that has essentially remained frozen over the past nine years, after the collapse of talks in Switzerland.
Guterres, whose second and final term ends in five months, is aware that there will be no solution by then.
