Newsroom
UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo is set to visit Cyprus on February 10 for meetings with President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, as the push for progress on the Cyprus issue continues. While her official schedule has yet to be announced, sources indicate that DiCarlo’s visit aims to facilitate dialogue on the island’s long-standing division.
DiCarlo is expected to engage with key stakeholders to explore the possibility of an informal, broader-format meeting under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. This gathering would provide both sides an opportunity to discuss potential ways forward in resolving the Cyprus problem.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, is actively involved in preparatory discussions. He is scheduled to meet separately with President Christodoulides and Tatar on Friday, following earlier talks with their respective negotiators, Menelaos Menelaou and Gunes Onar.
One pressing issue on the table is the opening of additional crossing points between the two communities. Christodoulides and Tatar recently met to discuss this matter but did not reach a conclusion, agreeing instead to reconvene soon. The discussion stems from an agreement made during an informal dinner hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York last October.
Cyprus remains divided since Turkey’s 1974 invasion, and decades of UN-led negotiations have so far failed to produce a lasting settlement. The last major round of peace talks, held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017, ended without a resolution.
DiCarlo’s visit signals a renewed diplomatic effort to break the deadlock, but whether it will lead to tangible progress remains to be seen.
