From April 27 to April 29, 2021 the United Nations held an informal 5+1 meeting on the situation in Cyprus, with the aim to bring together Greek and Turkish Cypriots and to resolve the dispute between the two Parties. The island has been divided since 1974, with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the North, formally recognized only by Turkey and with the Republic of Cyprus in the South, the formally international government recognized in Cyprus.
The 5+1 informal meeting was an opportunity for the UN Secretary General Guterres, the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, alongside MFAs from Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, to find a political solution to the division, in order to bring peace to all Cypriots. Issues such as power-sharing, security and guarantees, and territorial boundaries have been discussed but the 5+1 meeting resulted in no tangible outcomes and no common grounds were reached.
The role of the UN has been crucial to keep the peace in Cyprus, with notably the peacekeeping mission UNFICYP. Nevertheless, the UN has not been able yet to serve as a catalyser for reaching a political solution to the conflict. The international community does not agree also on which solution for Cyprus is better (for example, Ersin Tatar has advocated for a two-states solution, that was strongly declared as unacceptable by the United States, whereas Russia has sticked to a more bizonal or bicommunal federal solution).
CD4Peace recalls that without full inclusion of local people and the youth, no peace process can be durable and sustainable. CD4Peace recommends to further increase local peacebuilding efforts and to prioritize the inclusion of CSOs in all peace talks, including the high-political ones.