President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides is scheduled to meet the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, on Friday, amid efforts to resume negotiations on the Cyprus problem. The President has recently described the coming days as important for developments on the Cyprus issue.
According to an official announcement, President Christodoulides will hold a one-on-one meeting with Holguin at 12:30 (local time) at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia.
Holguin was expected to arrive in Cyprus late on Thursday evening and, according to information available to CNA, is expected to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Monday morning.
The UN has also announced that a joint meeting between President Christodoulides, Erhurman and Holguin is scheduled for November 9.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday upon his arrival at the State Fair grounds for the 9th National Skills Competition, SkillsCyprus 2026, President Christodoulides was asked whether he saw a window of opportunity for the resumption of substantive negotiations, particularly in light of Holguin’s visit to Cyprus.
“As far as it depends on me, I will do everything possible to ensure that such a window of opportunity emerges,” he said.
“Although I do not underestimate the difficulties, challenges and problems, I continue to put forward new ideas and new approaches, always within the established framework, so that we can succeed in opening that window,” he 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.