Nicosia: The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, expressed his readiness to address challenges and create conditions for resuming talks from where they were left off in Crans-Montana in 2017. This declaration came during his meeting at the Presidential Palace with Khassim Diagne, the new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of UNFICYP.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the President also conveyed his willingness, along with his team’s, to collaborate closely with Diagne on the Cyprus issue. The UN official emphasized the Secretary-General’s commitment to resolving the Cyprus problem, assuring that he would do everything possible to ensure that UN activities in Cyprus support the resumption of substantive talks between the President and the Turkish Cypriot leader.
He further assured, “you can count on me and on the entire UNFICYP team” to support these efforts. Present at the meeting were Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, Greek Cypriot negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou, Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, Director of the President’s Diplomatic Office, Doros Venezis, and Director of the President’s Press Office, Victor Papadopoulos.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 following Turkey’s invasion and occupation of its northern third. Despite several UN-led peace talks, a resolution has remained elusive due to Turkish intransigence. The last negotiations in Crans-Montana in July 2017 ended without any conclusion.
In 2025, the Secretary-General hosted two informal Cyprus meetings, one in Geneva in March and another in New York in July, followed by a tripartite meeting with Cyprus leaders in late September during the UN General Assembly High Level Week. A broader informal meeting is anticipated later this year.
Mara Angela Holgun, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, has been tasked with engaging the parties. Former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process alongside Holgun.