The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, is expected to visit Cyprus before the end of the month, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, noting that a joint meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader should take place during her visit.
Responding to a journalist at Episkopeio, a village in Nicosia district, where he delivered the memorial address at a national memorial service, the President said that ‘Holguín will be in Cyprus before the end of January. We are in contact with her.’
He added that prior to her visit to Cyprus, Holguín will also travel to several other countries, particularly in the context of preparatory work being carried out, in a bid to convene ‘an informal conference in broader format, as agreed, at which the resumption of talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana will be announced.’
According to President Christodoulides, there is ‘no inactivity whatsoever, developments are moving forward,’ noting that Holguín herself will announce her programme and the specific dates.
‘She will be in Cyprus before the end of the month. As part of her visit, a joint meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader should also take place,’ he underlined.
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. An informal meeting in broader format that was expected to take place before the end of 2025, is yet to be announced.
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.