UN Secretary-General’s Envoy Meets with Cyprus Negotiating Teams

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, is continuing her diplomatic efforts on the island. On Thursday, the Colombian diplomat held meetings with negotiation teams from both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, Holguín Cuéllar met with the chief negotiators—Menelaos Menelaou for the Greek Cypriot side and Güneş Onar for the Turkish Cypriot side. She also held discussions with members of the technical committees on culture and the environment.

Holguín Cuéllar arrived in Cyprus late last week and has already held separate meetings with the leaders of the two communities. During talks with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, she listened to their concerns and reviewed a set of confidence-building measures that were agreed upon during their last meeting in Geneva in March 2023.

Following these meetings, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric announced from UN Headquarters that the envoy’s goal is to achieve meaningful progress on the Cyprus issue by the end of July, when she is expected to meet again with the UN Secretary-General.

Today, Holguín Cuéllar is scheduled to meet with the Technical Committee on Youth, as well as members of the diplomatic community.

She is expected to leave Cyprus on Saturday, May 31. After her visit to the island, the Colombian diplomat will travel to the guarantor states—Turkey, Greece, and the United Kingdom—for further discussions.