Ankara: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday met with Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' personal envoy on Cyprus, in the capital Ankara. The meeting aimed to discuss the latest developments on the Cyprus issue ahead of the UN chief's scheduled visit to the island.

According to Anadolu Agency, the discussions between Fidan and Cuellar focused on recent developments concerning Cyprus. Fidan emphasized the stance of Trkiye as both a guarantor power and the motherland of the Turkish Cypriots, advocating for a solution based on the coexistence of two states on the island. He further stated that any approach that fails to recognize the Turkish Cypriot people's sovereign equality and equal international status, aligned with the realities on the island, would not contribute to resolving the issue.

Cuellar, appointed by Guterres on January 5, 2024, initially had a mandate to assess whether there was sufficient common ground for formal negotiations on the Cyprus issue. However, her mandate concluded in October 2024 with the UN determining no common ground existed. In 2025, Guterres initiated a new cooperation process to build trust between the two sides despite the lack of formal negotiations. Cuellar was reappointed to oversee this process and prepare for further informal meetings, although significant progress was hindered by the Greek Cypriot side's resistance on key issues.

The Cyprus dispute has been a long-standing issue, with ethnic tensions forcing Turkish Cypriots into enclaves since the 1960s. Trkiye's military intervention in 1974 followed a Greek Cypriot coup, leading to the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983. Despite numerous diplomatic efforts, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland, the conflict remains unresolved. The Greek Cypriot Administration's entry into the EU in 2004 further complicated the situation, as they blocked a UN plan to end the dispute that same year.