Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Turkey’s candidate for UN secretary-general, will take questions from member states in a webcast General Assembly dialogue on Nov. 6, a day after drawing more negative than positive votes in his first Security Council straw poll.
Azerbaijan has welcomed the United Arab Emirates’ candidate for UN secretary-general just as Ankara prepares to put forward its own. Then, President Ilham Aliyev decided to skip the Organization of Turkic States summit in Ankara on Oct. 30.
Ankara may nominate Feridun Sinirlioğlu for UN secretary-general, a Turkish official told Turkey in Depth, but the move hinges on a tentatively expected color-coded straw poll expected next week: if a permanent member signals a veto against frontrunner Rebeca Grynspan, Turkey is likely to propose its candidate.
OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu is testing the waters with the Security Council's permanent members for the post of UN secretary-general, although the regional rotation favors a candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC).
UN Secretary-General António Guterres' July 27-29 visit to Cyprus produced no concrete resolution plan or new timetable. Ankara welcomed efforts with caution and Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay headed to Northern Cyprus after the talks.
Cyprus is preparing for a summer of diplomatic activity unseen for a long time, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres makes a last push to solve the decades-old problem before the end of his tenure in December.
Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders met under the facilitation of United Nations Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar, on Dec. 11. Tufan Erhürman and Nikos Christodoulides reportedly agreed to expedite a series of confidence-building measures. Talks to resolve the decadeslong Cyprus issue are unlikely to gain traction before mid-2026, as both the north and south prepare for critical elections.
NICOSIA—The New York dinner hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Ersin Tatar managed to bring the two leaders together around a table, but reunification still seems a very distant prospect. “There wasn’t much on the menu,” quipped Tatar, speaking to Turkish journalists, including Turkey in Depth, in Nicosia after his return to the island. “Guterres himself said the main advantage of the meal at the UN headquarters was the view. I told him the view from the Turkish House [the headquarters of multiple Turkish diplomatic missions in the Big Apple] was far better.”