Reports emerge of a new UN proposal for the Cyprus issue

Recent reports in Turkish media, including the newspaper Sözcü, have claimed the existence of a new UN proposal for a Cyprus settlement attributed to the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin. The alleged plan reportedly includes the return of Varosha and Morphou to Greek Cypriots, while offering Turkish Cypriots a rotating presidency, federal council participation, and potential integration into the European Union with lifted trade and travel restrictions. Turkish nationalist outlets like Yeniçağ have strongly criticized these reports as a threat to sovereignty, rejecting any compromise on the two-state solution. In response, the Turkish Ministry of Defense, via spokesperson Zeki Aktürk, reaffirmed Ankara's official policy of pursuing a permanent solution only on the basis of two sovereign states. The Turkish government emphasized its role as a guarantor power and stated that any initiative ignoring the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot side would be rejected. The discussions come ahead of a planned 5+1 meeting in New York and an upcoming NATO summit. Meanwhile, some Turkish commentators link these geopolitical developments to broader power shifts in the Eastern Mediterranean.