UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, expressed optimism ahead of the trilateral meeting that will take place next week between herself, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
Holguin, who met on Monday with Erhurman, said that it was a preparatory meeting for next week’s trilateral meeting.
“We talked about many subjects” she said, adding that “I am optimistic, I hope I am not the only one in the island, but I continue to work. It was a good meeting.”
The Turkish Cypriot leader made no statement to the press.
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.