Guterres: Actions Undermining Trust Are Discouraging and Contrary to My Calls

Guterres made the remarks in a letter responding to one sent by President Tufan Erhürman on August 28, 2026. In his reply, dated October 16, 2026, the UN chief said he had carefully noted the concerns raised over developments affecting Turkish Cypriots’ cultural, sporting, political and diplomatic activities, adding that such incidents were contrary to initiatives aimed at strengthening mutual trust.

In his original letter, Erhürman had drawn attention to attempts to prevent activities involving Turkish Cypriots, including music festivals, a training camp by Spanish football club Barcelona, and diplomatic contacts. He also outlined to the UN Secretary-General the negative atmosphere created by these developments.

CONTACT AND COOPERATION MUST CONTINUE

Referring to his most recent meeting with Erhürman in New York and his visit to Cyprus in July 2026, Guterres underlined the importance of maintaining contact, cooperation and efforts to build trust between the two sides.

He said these efforts remained necessary to create favourable conditions for launching a process aimed at achieving a lasting settlement.

PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE WORK

Emphasising the importance of prioritising the implementation of confidence-building measures, Guterres said he had asked his Personal Representative to continue working with both sides on putting these initiatives into practice.

He also said he had requested that all relevant actors be reminded that actions undermining efforts to build trust, including the cancellation of events, ran counter to their shared efforts.

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR SETTLEMENT EFFORTS

At the end of his letter, the UN Secretary-General reaffirmed his continued commitment to supporting efforts to find a settlement in Cyprus.

Guterres’ response indicates that the concerns raised by Erhürman in his August 28 letter about the impact of attempts to obstruct Turkish Cypriot activities on the climate of trust have been carefully noted by the United Nations.