Negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side, Menelaos Menelaou, and the representative of Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhrman, Mehmet Dana, will meet on Friday November 28, ahead of the UNSG’s Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín ‘s visit to Cyprus in early December, CNA learns.
Menelaou and Dana are scheduled to meet at Ledra Palace at 10 local time, in the framework of the preparatory work being carried out in view of Holguín’s visit, as the latter is expected to the island on December 4.
On 20 November, Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, and the new Turkish Cypriot leader Erhrman agreed, during their first meeting, to have a joint encounter with Holguin during her visit here.
In statements to the press, Christodoulides has said that the joint meeting would take place after Holguin’s separate meetings with the two leaders. The UN diplomat will meet with Christodoulides on December 6 and with Erhrman on December 5.
He also said that in December Holguín will also pay visits to Greece and Turkey, while the EU Special Envoy on Cyprus, Johannes Hahn, will also visit Cyprus.
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.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. A new informal meeting in broader format is expected to take place.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.