Nicosia, Cyprus. Public information on the Cyprus problem remains limited as United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin has left the island and is expected to return later, while hopes remain for an enlarged meeting this summer despite few details being available.
Next steps under discussion
Deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou told CyBC radio on Wednesday morning that Holguin has travelled to New York and is expected to meet United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and “other associates” to “examine the next steps” ahead of an enlarged meeting.
However, Guterres is currently in London, where he travelled to attend Climate Action Week. It has not been made public when he will return to New York.
Return to Cyprus appears less likely this month
With Holguin and Guterres currently on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Holguin’s originally forecast return to Cyprus before the end of this month now appears unlikely. She also intends to travel to Brussels for contacts before returning to the island.
It is known that Holguin will meet European Council president Antonio Costa in Brussels, though a spokesperson for the European Council was unable to confirm or deny to the Cyprus Mail whether a date has been set for that meeting.
Unclear schedule in Brussels
It is not yet known whether Holguin will hold other contacts while in Brussels. The Cyprus Mail contacted both the European Commission and Nato to ask whether meetings with Holguin had been planned and received no response from either.
The question of whether Holguin may meet a representative of Nato arose after weekend reports suggested that security guarantees in a post-solution Cyprus may be offered by Nato.
Reports on post-solution security arrangements
Newspaper Politis reported that such guarantees may take the form of the new Cypriot republic joining Nato, alongside the presence of Nato troops from Turkey, Greece, France, the United Kingdom and the United States on the island.
Additionally, one of Cyprus’ three guarantor powers, Turkey, is set to host a Nato leaders’ summit on July 7 and July 8.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host the summit in Ankara, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also expected to attend, alongside Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
