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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will participate in an "Expanded Format Informal Meeting on Cyprus" to be held July 16-17 in New York as part of ongoing efforts to develop cooperation between the two sides on the island.
According to sources from the Foreign Ministry, other participants will include U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA) Leader Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, and U.K. Minister of State for Europe, North America, and Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty.
The Turkish side hopes the New York meeting will enable steps toward developing a culture of cooperation between the two sides on the island, expected to serve the development of good neighborly relations between the two.
Fidan previously attended a meeting in the same format held March 17-18 in Geneva, Switzerland. These meetings do not constitute "continuation of past negotiation processes" or "the beginning of a new negotiation process."
At the Geneva meeting, island parties focused on exploring areas of cooperation that could benefit both peoples on the island, at Guterres' request, in the current environment where no common ground exists for a final solution to the Cyprus issue.
Leaders agreed on developing a culture of cooperation between island parties through opening new crossing points, clearing mines on the island, environment and climate change initiatives, solar energy electricity generation in the Buffer Zone, cemetery restoration, and establishing a technical committee on youth issues.
Satisfactory progress was achieved in three cooperation areas: environment and climate change, cemetery restoration, and establishing a technical committee on youth issues.
However, no progress was made in the other three areas due to the Greek Cypriot side's uncompromising attitude regarding opening new crossing points, clearing mines on the island, and solar energy electricity generation in the Buffer Zone.
To monitor the process and prepare for the second meeting in New York, Guterres' Personal Representative on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, was reappointed as Personal Representative on May 2 with Türkiye's approval and began her duties on May 12.
Following her appointment, Cuellar visited the island May 24-31 and July 7-9, conducting bilateral meetings with leaders and trilateral meetings with representatives.
Personal Representative Cuellar held contacts with Minister Fidan in Istanbul on June 2, with George Gerapetritis in Greece on June 5, with Doughty in the U.K. on July 1, and with European Union Council President Antonio Costa in Brussels on July 2.
In January 2024, following Cuellar's initial appointment as Guterres' Personal Representative on Cyprus, Türkiye approved consultation with the Turkish Cypriot side, with the condition that her job description be limited to investigating whether common ground exists for launching new official solution negotiations between the two sides on the island and her term not exceed six months.
After conducting contacts on the island and in guarantor countries (Türkiye, Greece, and Britain) during this period, Cuellar submitted a report to Guterres at the end of her term (July 2024), whose content was not shared with the public or parties.
In her farewell letter published shortly before her term ended, Cuellar pointed to the importance of "moving away from solutions that failed to meet expectations in the past and led to greater disagreements and disappointments," stating that "now different thinking is required."
In this framework, Guterres proposed bringing Tatar and GCA Leader Christodoulides together at an informal, agenda-free trilateral dinner in New York aimed at mutual exchange of views during his meeting with TRNC President Tatar on Sept. 28, 2024.
The trilateral dinner was held Oct. 15, 2024, where Tatar explained the Turkish Cypriot side's position once again and underlined the reality of two separate states on the island.
In the statement made by the U.N. spokesperson following the dinner, the lack of common ground between the parties was officially recorded for the first time.
At the dinner, it was also decided to organize an "Expanded Format Informal Meeting" hosted by Guterres with the two island leaders, foreign ministers of the motherlands, and lower-level participation from the third guarantor country, Britain.
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