Nicosia: UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, Mara ngela Holgun Cu©llar, stated after her meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides that her objective was to achieve tangible progress on all six confidence-building measures (CBMs) agreed upon in March in Geneva.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Holgun emphasized that the upcoming days would be crucial in ensuring concrete outcomes by the next informal meeting for Cyprus with the UN Secretary-General in July. She noted that the focus is on advancing the complete set of proposed measures, while acknowledging that the results would depend on developments in the forthcoming weeks.
Holgun expressed her satisfaction at returning to Cyprus and having her first meeting with President Christodoulides. She highlighted their mutual understanding of the need to work diligently in the month preceding the July meeting to achieve some results.
The envoy mentioned the positive tone of discussions held in March, during which several CBMs were agreed upon between the sides. She added that the Secretary-General has been persistent with the Cyprus issue and expressed her commitment to delivering concrete outcomes by July.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, following Turkey’s invasion and occupation of its northern third. Several UN-led peace talks have been held without success, primarily due to Turkish resistance. The last negotiations in July 2017 at Crans-Montana ended without a resolution.
The UN Secretary-General announced an informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format for the end of July, following a similar meeting in Geneva on March 17-18. The two sides agreed on various initiatives, including opening crossing points and creating a Technical Committee on Youth, among other initiatives across the island.
In early May, the UN Secretary-General appointed Mara ngela Holgun of Colombia as his Personal Envoy on Cyprus, tasked with re-engaging the parties to work on the next steps regarding the Cyprus issue. Holgun previously served as the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus from January to July 2024.
The European Commission appointed Johannes Hahn, a former European Commissioner, as Special Envoy for Cyprus to aid the settlement process alongside Holgun.