United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar has returned to the island ahead of the 16–17 July informal 5+1 summit in New York, where fresh efforts will be made to move the Cyprus issue forward.
Holguín launched her visit with a meeting at the Presidency in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with President Ersin Tatar.
UN envoy Holguín, who has been tasked with facilitating talks between the two sides since January, began her latest round of shuttle diplomacy with a visit to President Ersin Tatar.
The two met in Lefkoşa on Monday, days before the high-stakes summit in New York.
Holguín told reporters that she hoped to see progress on several measures previously agreed in March.
She stressed that the UN’s efforts were aimed entirely at improving life on the island, stating: “We are working for the prosperity of the people. Everything the UN is doing is to help the communities live better lives. We hope the leaders will keep this in mind. We are happy about next week.”
In remarks following the meeting, President Tatar confirmed that the two had previously spoken by phone while he was in London, but that this was their first face-to-face discussion in some time due to scheduling constraints. He said Holguín’s visit was part of the preparatory work for the New York meeting and noted that six headings had been agreed upon during talks in March, leading to the decision for a new round of discussions this month.
Tatar repeated his long-standing position that any negotiations must be based on the recognition of Turkish Cypriot sovereign rights. He argued that the presence of guarantor powers around the table was crucial and that the Cyprus issue remained an international matter. “Our position, submitted to the UN four years ago, remains unchanged,” he said.
On the issue of crossing points, Tatar expressed disappointment at the lack of progress, despite mutual affirmations of support. “Holguín herself saw the situation with the checkpoints during her visits,” he said. “Despite the confirmation that they should open, we received no positive response. It’s difficult to understand.”
Tatar added that referring to “corridors” rather than new crossings was misleading and said the only practical way forward was to establish new crossing points directly.
President Tatar also raised concerns about the EU-funded solar energy project planned for the buffer zone.
He said the proposal for 35% of the electricity generated to be transferred to the north via the Greek Cypriot administration’s grid was unacceptable.
He went on to note that the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, had previously called for greater sensitivity from both sides to maintain the positive climate, and pointed to the creation of youth committees on both sides as a good step.
Tatar concluded by stating that they had continued to work on the six agreed areas and had shared their concerns with Holguín.
Referring to a recent article in the Greek Cypriot press about a letter he sent to Guterres, he said the matter would be brought up more forcefully in New York. brt
