The UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, expressed optimism after her meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday, saying efforts are ongoing to achieve tangible progress next week.
“We had a very good meeting with Mr. Christodoulides, and this morning I also met with Mr. Tatar. We are working hard to achieve some results for next week. I will continue working this afternoon and on Wednesday afternoon with the negotiators,” she said speaking to journalists after the meeting at the Presidential Palace.
She added that she believed something important could be achieved, noting that they had discussed stronger measures for the future during the morning meeting, and expressed hope for a good meeting next week.
When asked whether she was referring to the opening of a new crossing point, Holguín replied briefly “we are going to work on that this afternoon”.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
The informal meeting, which will take place at the headquarters of the international organisation in New York on July 16 and 17, was announced by the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, who said that it would provide an opportunity to continue the dialogue and exchange views on the progress made since March.
After a similar meeting in Geneva, on March 17-18 the two sides agreed to proceed with a number of initiatives, involving the opening of crossing points, the creation of a Technical Committee on Youth and other initiatives in the buffer zone and throughout the island.
Guterres announced in early May the appointment of María Angela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his Personal Envoy on Cyprus, who is tasked to reengage with the parties in order to work on next steps on the Cyprus issue and advise him. Holguín completed a previous assignment as Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus from January to July 2024.
The European Commission designated Johannes Hahn, a former European Commissioner, as Special Envoy for Cyprus to contribute to the settlement process, in close cooperation with Holguín.
