Nicosia: UN Secretary General’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Marangela Holgun Cullar, is scheduled to arrive on the island next Monday. She is set to hold crucial separate meetings with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, on Tuesday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the meeting with President Christodoulides is planned for Tuesday morning at 9:30 am local time at the Presidential Palace. Later that day, she will meet Tatar in the Turkish-occupied areas of the island. Holgun’s agenda also includes a meeting with the members of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in the afternoon.
Continuing her visit, Holgun will engage with the bicommunal Technical Committee on Youth on Wednesday. Before her departure from Cyprus on Friday, the UNSG’s Personal Envoy will pay visits to Turkish Cypriot cemeteries in Larnaca and occupied Morphou.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third, and UN-led peace talks have yet to produce a resolution. The most recent negotiations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in July 2017, ended without an agreement. Efforts to resume talks included an informal meeting held in New York in July 2025, with a follow-up meeting anticipated later this year. UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres is also expected to meet with Cyprus leaders during the General Assembly high-level week in September.
Discussions between the two sides continue on issues such as the opening of crossing points and a solar energy installation in the buffer zone, along with cooperation on cultural artifact exchanges. The European Commission has designated Johannes Hahn, a former European Commissioner, as Special Envoy for Cyprus to support the settlement process in collaboration with Holgun.