Your Excellency, Mr. Guterres,
The first time I saw you, it was a cold January morning at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. It was 2017, and you were only nine days into your term as Secretary-General.
The entrance to the Palais des Nations was covered in red carpets, reminiscent of the Oscars.
At the entrance, I made the following comparison to Canan Onurer, who was reporting on the developments live with me: “It's like we're at an Oscar ceremony!”
The Cyprus problem was on its way to being resolved, and you were presiding over all of this. That is, I thought it would be resolved at the time!
At the end of that morning's meeting, in the joint statement you made with the two leaders at the time (Anastasiadis-Akıncı), you compared the morning's images to an Oscar ceremony, just like the way I did, and frankly, we really liked it.
Unfortunately, that conference did not end as desired, but it inevitably led us to Crans Montana as a milestone in a process that had already begun.
Our second meeting also took place there. However, that conference, which saw the closest moments to a solution in the history of the Cyprus issue, also ended without results.
As you uttered the words “I am closing the Crans Montana conference without results,” one of the saddest moments of my life, I was among the press crowd 3-5 meters away, and I couldn't hold back my tears.
Your Excellency,
Nine years have passed since that unfortunate conference. So has your term of office. And this year is your last year in office.
Of course, we experienced many unfortunate events after Crans Montana.
First, they overthrew Mustafa Akıncı, one of the heroes of that process, with the most reckless election interference in history, and replaced him with Ersin Tatar.
Then they reverted to the same old broken records on the Cyprus issue, and you had to listen to them for five years. I apologize for this on my own behalf, but I cannot help thinking that you should not have been that patient.
For every bit of humility you showed toward these ideas, every step you took beyond your own mandate, served only to embolden the enemies of a solution in the north of the island. I suppose that is also the main subject of this letter.
Your Excellency,
The United Nations is an organization that defends human rights and freedoms, strives to maintain world peace, and endeavors to resolve emerging problems in practice.
If you ask me, the UN is the greatest consensus humanity has achieved, despite all the difficulties. While some may liken the UN to a scarecrow, I know that a world without the UN would be a place many times worse than today.
In this context, it is the duty of all humanity to make the UN more equitable, more operational, and more prestigious.
However, the existence of those who seek to trample on these ideals, who see the UN as an obstacle to their own nefarious aims and seek to eliminate it, has always been a problem, and it seems that these efforts have intensified in recent times.
At this very point, I believe it is an indisputable fact that the UN needs a beautiful success story.
Again, at this very point, I think that this success story is the solution to the Cyprus problem, one of the oldest issues facing the organization.
Your Excellency,
Under your patronage, we came within a breath of a solution in 2017, but we could not succeed. Yet, you did not give up and kept this issue on the agenda, never abandoning it, despite all the obstacles, misfortunes, and recklessness.
While I am grateful to you for this, I see the current state of the Cyprus issue as a major handicap and misfortune for the UN.
To put it bluntly, the mighty UN has, through the Cyprus problem and its reckless actors, suffered a ‘loss of prestige’, to say the least.
I believe that rectifying this situation may not be entirely in your hands, but the need for one last attempt is as clear as daylight.
And to do so, I believe you need to take an initiative without worrying too much about what the parties, or actors might say.
I believe that the six-point document you presented in Crans Montana in 2017, which bears your name, represents the fundamental spirit of the solution agreement that will be reached in Cyprus. And I am not the only one who believes this!
Last year, I told your personal representative, Ms. Maria Holguin, who was kind enough to meet with me, that you should take the initiative without getting too involved with the parties and put forward a solution plan. She agreed with me, but I don't know if she told you any of that.
Your Excellency,
What you need to do in the final year of your term is to put a plan on the table. Whatever happens, even if the parties reject this plan, they will never be able to prevent one thing: the plan being discussed!
Almost all of the reports Ms. Holguin has presented to you emphasize the involvement of civil society in the process.
Considering the traditional positions of both sides, I think you already know that this is not realistic at all. However, if you put forward a comprehensive solution plan based on your six points, no one can prevent it from being discussed in public. Only in this way can a participatory process be ensured.
Of course, in today's social media environment, negative situations such as lynch culture and infodemic will arise, but these are not insurmountable issues in the information age.
Your Excellency,
Please put forward a solution plan! I am saying this very sincerely, I am not joking. I salute all your hard work and efforts, and I believe they should not be in vain. The only solution is a text that emerges from the agreements of both sides.
Whatever the outcome, whatever happens, you must try this option. I am sure you have a text ready; all you have to do is to open the Pandora's box.
Otherwise, your name will unfortunately be remembered like the other Secretaries-General who got stuck in this quagmire called the Cyprus problem. U-Thant, Waldehim, Cueallar, Gali, Annan, and Moon all ended up that way.
As I said, you can only rewrite history in this way. Let us not forget, history only writes about those who have been brave!
With these feelings and thoughts, I conclude my letter here and greet you with my most sincere regards...
This article was originally published on 24.02.2026
Source: YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. GUTERRES...
