Although a trilateral meeting between the UN Secretary General and the Cyprus leaders was not initially planned in New York, ‘the Greek Cypriot leader proposed to have one this week, but, at this moment, the Turkish Cypriot leader did not consider it’ notes the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín.
In a message, made public on Sunday morning, Holguín also notes that the UN has carried out the exercise of convergences, which will be available to the parties when they start negotiations. The Personal Envoy also notes that she will continue her efforts until the end of December and will be visiting Cyprus in October.
‘In New York, during the high-level segment of the General Assembly, I met the two leaders separately and accompanied the Secretary-General in his bilateral meetings with each leader. With Rosemary DiCarlo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, we met the two negotiators with the intention to review the CBMs that the two sides agreed to develop. These measures should contribute to building trust and give way to new initiatives’ says Holguín.
She adds that during his visit to Cyprus, the Secretary-General reiterated his commitment to continue to support the parties in their search for a solution until the last day of his mandate, which ends in three months. ‘In New York, the Secretary-General met separately with each leader and exchanged visions to overcome the challenges and be able to move forward. Although a trilateral meeting was not initially planned, the Greek Cypriot leader proposed to have one this week, but, at this moment, the Turkish Cypriot leader did not consider it’ she says.
In this context, in relation to the confidence-building measures agreed upon by both sides, the Secretary-General reiterated the urgency for the leaders to proceed with their implementation as a reflection of their ability to cooperate, the Personal Envoy goes on. ‘Such cooperation, if achieved, would be a demonstration of their willingness to initiate a process towards a sustainable solution’ she underlines.
Holguín also notes that the UN has carried out the exercise of convergences ‘which will be available to the parties when they start negotiations.’ In addition, she says, the UN will invite both sides to present their proposals on methodology. ‘I will continue my facilitation efforts until the end of December and, in October, during my next visit to Cyprus, I will continue to encourage both parties to create the conducive environment required for the start of a new process’ she concludes in her message.
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 Antoni 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.