UN envoy for Cyprus pushes for trust-building measures
NICOSIA
A newly appointed U.N. envoy for Cyprus has said she’ll work hard to ensure concrete progress in measures to build trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in hopes of reviving talks to heal the island nation's half-century ethnic division.
Maria Angela Holguin said her weeklong stay in Cyprus aims to generate tangible results ahead of a July meeting in Geneva that will bring together U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, along with top diplomats from Greece, Türkiye and the U.K.
Following the March meeting, Guterres informed that the Turkish and Greek Cypriots agreed to hold another meeting in late July in the 5+1 format, stressing that the Geneva meeting has yielded “meaningful progress.”
On May 24, Holguin said Guterres “continues to push” for a resumption of Cyprus peace talks.
She is set to hold talks with Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar on May 26, two days after a meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides. The U.N. envoy expected to engage in the key talks with representatives of guarantor countries, Türkiye, Greece and the U.K.
Trust-building measures include talks on opening new crossing points along a 180-kilometer (120-mile) U.N. control buffer zone that divides a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north from a Greek Cypriot south.
Other measures that Tatar and Christodoulides agreed to implement in front of Guterres during a March meeting in Geneva included work on a photovoltaic park inside the buffer zone, demining and restoration work on cemeteries on either side of the divide.
The east Mediterranean island has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
