An Open Letter to António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
To Mr Guterres,
We write on behalf of the Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus (FFNC) campaign in response to the recent remarks made on 15 February 2026 by your Personal Envoy on Cyprus, Ms Maria Angela Holguín.
FFNC supports dialogue and a peaceful, sustainable future on the island. However, we are concerned that the current framing risks repeating the same patterns that have defined the Cyprus process for decades: emphasis on preparation, patience, and confidence-building, while the core structural imbalance that has obstructed progress remains unaddressed.
We support President Tufan Erhürman’s call for clarity and realism in any renewed process. In particular, we support his four-point methodology in full:
– Political equality must be secured before negotiations begin.
– The process must not restart from zero.
– A clear timeframe should be established.
– If talks collapse, there must be no automatic return to the status quo.
These are not rhetorical demands. They reflect the lived experience of the Turkish Cypriot people, who have repeatedly engaged in UN-led processes in good faith, only to encounter familiar outcomes.
The Turkish Cypriot people have heard similar language before – in 2004 ahead of the Annan Plan referendums, and again in 2017 during the negotiations that culminated at Crans-Montana.
In April 2004, the Turkish Cypriot people voted 64.9% in favour of reunification under the Annan Plan. The Greek Cypriot side voted 75.8% against it. The historical record is clear: one side endorsed a comprehensive UN-backed settlement; the other rejected it.
Following the referendum, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that the decision of the Turkish Cypriots was to be welcomed; that their vote had “undone any rationale for pressuring and isolating them”; and that States should act to eliminate unnecessary restrictions that isolate the Turkish Cypriots – explicitly not for recognition, but as a positive contribution to reunification.
Despite this, isolation has continued. The Turkish Cypriot people remain excluded from direct trade, direct flights, and full international participation, while the side that rejected the settlement retained exclusive international recognition and the advantages that flow from it.
In 2017 at Crans-Montana, expectations were once again raised. Yet the talks collapsed because the fundamental issues – effective political equality, security frameworks, decision-making parity, and genuine power-sharing – were not accepted in practice. Political equality cannot exist in name alone while being denied in substance.
The central issue is not insufficient meetings or inadequate preparation. It is structural asymmetry.
The 1960 Republic of Cyprus was established as a bi-communal partnership between two co-founding peoples. That partnership collapsed in 1963, when Turkish Cypriots were forcibly excluded from state institutions following unconstitutional changes and violence. United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964, adopted in a specific and urgent context, nonetheless had the long-term effect of recognising the Greek Cypriot administration as the “Government of Cyprus” for international purposes, despite the constitutional breakdown of the partnership state. This decision institutionalised a structural imbalance that continues to define the process today.
As long as one side is treated as the sole recognised state – enjoying international legitimacy, diplomatic standing, and unilateral access to international institutions – it has little incentive to negotiate on the basis of genuine equality. Maintaining the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people further entrenches this imbalance and reduces the cost of intransigence.
Negotiations conducted under these conditions cannot produce a fair and lasting outcome.
If this time is to be different, as has been stated, then the UN framework must move beyond repetition. The status quo – where one side retains all advantages of recognition and the other is expected to negotiate from a disadvantaged and isolated position – is not neutral. It shapes incentives, behaviour, and outcomes.
Justice, respect, and equality are not rhetorical aspirations. They are prerequisites for any sustainable settlement. Without addressing the structural asymmetry at the heart of the Cyprus issue, further rounds of talks risk becoming another cycle of familiar language and predictable failure.
We respectfully urge that future UN efforts explicitly recognise and confront this imbalance, and that renewed engagement be anchored in guaranteed political equality from the outset.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus (FFNC)
