UN chief Guterres to convene new talks on ending Cyprus' decades-long division

During a visit to the divided island of Cyprus, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he would convene fresh talks in a 5+1 format to end the country's half-century deadlock.

He invited both the Turkish Cypriot leadership in the north and that of the Republic of Cyprus in the largely Greek-speaking south to take part, along with the country's three guarantor powers: the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey.

The announcement was made after the joint meeting he held on Wednesday in Nicosia with the president of the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.

"On the basis of our discussions on the way forward from here, I have decided to convene another 5+1 meeting, following adequate preparation on confidence-building measures, the methodology and the substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved," Guterres said.

The UN chief did not announce a timeline for the talks, saying that it would depend on "adequate preparation" and progress in confidence-building measures.

He added that the UN will work in consultation with the two sides and the three guarantor powers in order to create the conditions for the meeting to succeed.

Guterres is the first UN Secretary-General to visit Cyprus since 2010. He leaves his post at the end of this year.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 following an invasion by the Turkish military in response to a Greek-backed coup. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, controls the predominantly Greek-speaking south, while the Turkish Cypriot-administered north is recognised only by Turkey. A UN buffer zone separates the two sides and runs through the capital of Nicosia.