The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, is expected to have meetings with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides by the end of the week.

The Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, told CNA Wednesday, that Antonio Guterres is expected to meet both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders this week to explore possibilities for the appointment of an envoy.”

He also pointed out that the Secretary-General remains committed to supporting both sides in finding a way forward toward the resumption of negotiations. “As the Secretary-General has reiterated, his Good Offices remain at the full disposal of the sides,” Dujarric added.

Asked by the CNA why the meeting of the Secretary General with the Turkish president did not take place as scheduled, Dujarric said that the postponement of the meeting “was a scheduling issue on the Turkish end so the scheduled meeting did not happen. A meeting with the foreign minister will be scheduled later this week”.

Responding to another question by CNA whether the Secretary General intends to invite Christodoulides and Tatar to a trilateral meeting, Dujarric said that there is no news at the moment about such a meeting.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.