The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Informal Meeting on Cyprus, UN Geneva: UN Secretary-General António Guterres Media Stakeout - 18 March 2025
Cyprus talks result in trust-building measures, show ‘new atmosphere’ among divided island’s leaders, says UN’s Guterres
UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures and also underscored the positive “new atmosphere” surrounding the discussions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
Speaking in Geneva after a second day of informal talks, the UN chief underscored his commitment to ensuring the security and well-being of the Cypriots - the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots – “from the very start of my mandate…today was another attempt to find a way forward”.
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar, Turkish Cypriot leader, had gathered at UN Geneva along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the request of Mr. Guterres.
“Mr. Tatar and Mr. Christodoulides have agreed the following group of initiatives to build trust,” he said, listing “opening of the four crossing points, demining, creation of a technical committee on youth, initiatives on the environment and climate change including the impacts on mining areas; solar energy in the buffer zone and the restoration of cemeteries”.
The UN has pushed for negotiations towards a settlement of the issues which led to the division of the island, with the Security Council authorising a peacekeeping force in 1964, UNFICYP. In the absence of a lasting agreement, the force remains on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, a buffer zone and to support humanitarian activities.
Mr. Guterres attempted to bring the two sides together in 2017 at the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana but talks ultimately broke down. A further push was made in 2021.
In contrast, the latest discussions saw “meaningful progress”, the UN chief insisted. “I hope that the confidence-building measures or the initiatives to build trust, together with the decision to have very soon a next meeting and the acceptance by all of the appointment of a Special Envoy on Cyprus to prepare the next steps, demonstrates the sense of commitment and the sense of urgency that I believe were extremely important. It's a new atmosphere.”
Ends
STORY: Cyprus talks stakeout - António Guterres
TRT: 02’16”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 18 March 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, panning, TV cameras, António Guterres, UN Secretary-General walking to dais, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE: António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “From the very start of my mandate, I have been committed to the security and well-being of the Cypriots - the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. And today was another attempt to find a way forward.”
- Medium: TV cameras, journalists, photographers.
- SOUNDBITE: António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “Mr. Tatar and Mr. Christodoulides have agreed the following group of initiatives to build trust: opening the four crossing points, demining, creation of a technical committee on youth, initiatives on the environment and climate change including the impacts on mining areas; solar energy in the buffer zone and the restoration of cemeteries.”
- Close: mobile phone filming Security-General.
- SOUNDBITE: António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “Today there was meaningful progress. And I hope that the confidence-building measures or the initiatives to build trust, together with the decision to have very soon a next meeting and the acceptance by all of the appointment of a Special Envoy on Cyprus to prepare the next steps, demonstrates the sense of commitment and the sense of urgency that I believe were extremely important. It's a new atmosphere.”
- Medium: Press pack.
- Medium: Press pack.
- Close: journalists, TV cameras.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UNHCR , UNRWA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, attended by the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.