UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week became the first UN chief to visit Cyprus in 16 years.
While there, he met the leaders of the island's two communities: Nikos Christodoulides, president of the Republic of Cyprus, and Tufan Erhurman, Turkish Cypriot leader and president of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey.
His aim in doing so was to determine whether the conditions exist for restarting negotiations on the Cyprus issue.Guterres (center) travelled to Cyprus to meet the leaders of the two Cypriot communities, Nikos Christodoulides (center right) and Tufan Erhurman (center left)Image: TRNC Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency/IMAGO
Progress on talks has remained stalled since the collapse of negotiations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017, when the United Nations made its most comprehensive effort to broker a reunification agreement for the island.
Why now?
