The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Angela Holguín, will speak with the Secretary-General by phone, in order to update on her work, since she will not attend New York either, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
Responding to a question from the Cyprus News Agency, during the daily press briefing at UNHQ in New York, Dujarric confirmed that Holguín cancelled her planned visits to New York and Cyprus for health reasons.
‘I can officially confirm that Maria A. Holguín had to cancel her visit to both New York, where she was going to meet with the Secretary-General, and to Cyprus,’ Dujarric said.
He added that ‘she did this for health reasons.’
According to the UN Spokesperson, Holguín “will speak with the Secretary-General by phone in order to keep him updated on her work”.
‘She, of course, also remains in close contact with the Cypriot leaders and their representatives,’ Dujarric added.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. María Angela Holguín, Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.