Holguín makes last-ditch push in Ankara before Guterres Cyprus meeting

Politics Cyprus problemTop NewsunUnited Nations Holguín makes last-ditch push in Ankara before Guterres Cyprus meeting Holguín Makes Last Ditch Push In Ankara Before Guterres Cyprus Meeting Relevant News Holguín makes last-ditch push in Ankara before Guterres Cyprus meeting 22 July 2026 Police urge caution as fog blankets Larnaca roads 22 July 2026 Geneva rights group fears Cyprus Hamas plot suspect faces Israel extradition 22 July 2026 Andreas Bimbishis 22 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber María Ángela Holguín will make a last-ditch effort in Turkey to save UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s Cyprus problem mission. She travels to Ankara to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, hoping for a positive response that would allow Guterres to announce a new informal five-party meeting when he visits Cyprus. The personal envoy’s visit to Turkey and her meeting with Fidan will take place on Sunday, a day before Guterres arrives in Cyprus, underlining how targeted the trip is. Turkey’s overall stance has minimised the chances of convening a 5+1 meeting, and the United Nations is pushing to get all sides involved in the Cyprus problem moving. Holguín’s move also shows she wants a result on the Cyprus problem in the immediate period ahead. It was she who persuaded Guterres to visit the island, and she must now persuade Ankara to help bring about the five-party meeting. Meeting with Fitto in Brussels Turkish news agency ANKA revealed the Holguín-Fidan meeting, set for July 26. According to ANKA, Holguín will hold talks in several European capitals, including Brussels and Ankara, as part of preparations for the UN Secretary-General’s visit. The same sources say she is expected to meet Fidan on July 26, with the meeting expected to cover the latest diplomatic developments on the Cyprus problem, the positions of the sides involved, and the agenda for Guterres’s Cyprus visit. According to the agency, Holguín’s contacts in Ankara and Brussels are considered critical for completing diplomatic preparations for Guterres’s visit and for capturing the positions of the sides ahead of the next steps on the Cyprus problem. ANKA also reports that the UN Secretary-General’s visit will be his last to Cyprus before his term ends. Under the current plan, Guterres will hold separate meetings with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and President Nikos Christodoulides, before chairing a joint meeting of the two leaders. He is also expected to meet representatives of bicommunal technical committees and civil society organisations, to be briefed on cooperation between the two communities and the prospects for restarting negotiations. No movement from Ankara So far, Ankara has shown no change in its position on the Cyprus problem. Messages sent by Turkish officials during celebrations marking the 52nd anniversary of the Turkish invasion were clearly focused on a “two-state solution,” an approach that leaves the UN Secretary-General little room to pursue an informal multilateral meeting. Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz, speaking in the occupied areas, spoke of “two equal sovereign states.” According to Turkish Cypriot newspapers, Yılmaz said a solution in Cyprus would become possible through acceptance of sovereign equality and equal international status for the “two states,” and argued that the presence of the Turkish military on the island guarantees regional peace. “Cyprus will never become a Greek island,” he said. The “mayor” of occupied Nicosia, Mehmet Harmancı, referring to the Cyprus problem, spoke of a new initiative launched through the UN Secretary-General’s actions, describing it as important. He said he hoped the international identity of Turkish Cypriots would be recognised and that they would take the place they deserve within a framework of equality. Turkish diplomat Hüseyin Macit Yusuf argued that the vision of a two-state solution promoted by Turkey and the “TRNC” must be pursued with determination, followed by more energetic and effective diplomacy aimed at securing international recognition for the “TRNC.” He also said the policy of Turkey’s National Assembly and National Security Council, under which Cyprus is treated as home to two sovereign states, should be applied even more forcefully, describing this as the will of the Turkish Cypriot people. 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