{"id":22408,"date":"2026-07-30T21:43:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=22408"},"modified":"2026-07-30T21:43:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:43:34","slug":"cyprus-ethnic-split-must-be-resolved-to-stabilize-a-tumultuous-region-un-chief-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=22408","title":{"rendered":"Cyprus&#8217; ethnic split must be resolved to stabilize a tumultuous region, UN chief says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">NICOSIA, Cyprus &#8212; <\/span>Resolving <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/cyprus\">Cyprus\u2019<\/a> ethnic division is \u201cabsolutely crucial\u201d for stabilizing a turbulent region where persistent conflicts have the potential to escalate, U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Guterres made a rare, two-day visit to Cyprus to underline his commitment to restarting deadlocked peace talks on a deal to end <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/photo-gallery\/cyprus-division-un-buffer-zone-greece-turkey-df09c933dc7bfff1377fd3b4606c6a8e\">the 52-year-old rift<\/a> in which a U.N.- controlled buffer zone separates breakaway Turkish Cypriots in the island&#8217;s northern third and Greek Cypriots in the south. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cI do believe that a solution in Cyprus is absolutely crucial, not only to preserve the interests and the peace of the Cyprus people, but also as a factor of stability in what is becoming a dangerously unstable region,\u201d Guterres told a news conference after meeting with the island&#8217;s rival leaders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of an Athens junta-backed coup whose supporters sought union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared independence nearly a decade later, but only Turkey recognizes it and keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north. Although Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, only the south where the internationally recognized government is seated enjoys full benefits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Cyprus lies 207 kilometers (129 miles) from Lebanon and about 340 kilometers (211 miles) from Israel. The island nation has in recent years leveraged its geographical proximity to the Middle East to act as the EU\u2019s gateway to the region and has forged closer ties with many countries, particularly with Israel <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cyprus-exxon-natural-gas-hydrocarbons-97ce4d93e6b8696bef3b13b7d352d5bf\">on energy<\/a> and defense. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But that proximity worked to Cyprus\u2019 detriment last March when a <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cyprus-britain-military-bases-iran-drones-d217a7fc05b85aad5fddc706c0c71d46\">Shaheed drone<\/a> that officials said was launched from Lebanon struck an aircraft hangar at a British air base on the island\u2019s southern coast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Cyprus is also a nexus point for heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel, which eyes Turkish military installations on Cyprus with suspicion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Earlier this month, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz warned the Cypriot government against using its EU membership and closer ties to Israel to extract concessions from Ankara.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Guterres, whose term as U.N. chief expires at the end of the year, said he\u2019s prepared to call a meeting of the 5-plus-1 group \u2014 the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, the island\u2019s Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, the foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey and Britain, plus the U.N. secretary-general \u2014 in hopes of resuming full-fledged peace talks .<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But Guterres said more preparations are needed to ensure the meeting&#8217;s success. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">There are no guarantees of a successful outcome. Despite a U.N.-endorsed framework envisioning a federated Cyprus composed of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones, Turkey insists on a two-state arrangement where breakaway Turkish Cypriots would be granted international recognition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Turkish Cypriots accuse the majority Greek Cypriots of not wanting to equally share power on all government levels. Greek Cypriots won\u2019t accept a two-state deal because it would formally partition the island. They also reject demands for a permanent Turkish military presence on the island and intervention rights for Ankara, which they consider an existential threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NICOSIA, Cyprus &#8212; Resolving Cyprus\u2019 ethnic division is \u201cabsolutely crucial\u201d for stabilizing a turbulent region where persistent conflicts have the potential to escalate, U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said Wednesday. Guterres made a rare, two-day visit to Cyprus to underline his commitment to restarting deadlocked peace talks on a deal to end the 52-year-old rift in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/546528a6-6401-4cc5-9cee-7c1b79e6ab52\/wirestory_2d41202a1624465ce228b3d0075a94a9_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}