Nicosia, Cyprus. United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin said on Monday that preparations are under way for an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem involving the island’s two sides, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the UN. She said the meeting will take place, though the date has not yet been determined.
Meeting preparations
After meeting President Nikos Christodoulides, Holguin said, “We are preparing for a five-plus-one meeting with the secretary-general [Antonio Guterres].”
She is due to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman later in the day. Holguin also confirmed that after leaving Cyprus she will travel to Athens and Ankara, before returning to Colombia and later travelling to Brussels.
Asked whether an enlarged meeting will take place, she said, “yes, it will happen”, but added that she is not yet sure when it will be held.
Further contacts
The Cyprus News Agency reported that Holguin will meet Christodoulides again on Friday or Saturday.
Christodoulides said on Sunday that Guterres has “a very specific plan” for the next steps in efforts to resume talks aimed at a solution to the Cyprus problem, and stressed that “the effort is underway” for an enlarged meeting to be convened.
Reports on Turkey’s position
Holguin’s visit comes as sources informed the Cyprus Mail that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has approved the “new initiative” being undertaken by the UN with the aim of resuming formal negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
According to the sources, Erdogan believes that the lack of a solution to the Cyprus problem has “unduly cost Turkey through no fault of its own” in recent decades, particularly given that Turkish governments led by Erdogan supported both the 2004 Annan plan referendum and the failed negotiations in 2017 at Crans-Montana.
The sources said Turkey’s support for both the 2004 referendum and the 2017 negotiations, both rejected by the Greek Cypriot side, demonstrates Erdogan’s “pragmatic and constructive stance” and “will to engage in the hope of securing a solution to the Cyprus problem”.
Timing of a new initiative
Questions over when a “new initiative” on the Cyprus problem may begin have persisted for weeks. Erhurman said a month ago that such an initiative would begin in July, following the conclusion of Cyprus’ six-month term holding the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency.