U.N. chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar talks with the Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
U.N. chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, left, talks with Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
U.N. chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, arrives for a meeting with Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
U.N. chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, arrives for a meeting with Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
U.N. chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, left, and Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides talk during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
UN envoy for Cyprus pushes for trust-building measures ahead of talks
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) 鈥 A newly appointed U.N. envoy for Cyprus said Saturday she鈥檒l work hard to ensure concrete progress in measures to build trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in hopes of reviving moribund talks to heal the island nation’s half-century ethnic division.
U.N. chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar talks with the Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) 鈥 A newly appointed U.N. envoy for Cyprus said Saturday she鈥檒l work hard to ensure concrete progress in measures to build trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in hopes of reviving moribund 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, Turkey and the U.K.
Negotiations have been stalled since 2017.
include talks on opening new crossing points along a that divides a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north from a Greek Cypriot south, where the internationally-recognized government is seated.
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Other measures that Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar agreed to 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.
Cyprus was split in 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island鈥檚 northern third.
Holguin said Guterres 鈥渃ontinues to push鈥 for a resumption of Cyprus peace talks. But that prospect faces a difficult hurdle in the form of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot insistence on a peace deal based on two equal states, instead of a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones that formed the basis of decades of U.N.-mediated negotiations.
While Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots say the federation idea is now bankrupt, Greek Cypriots say they won鈥檛 assent to any accord that formally partitions the island, allows for a permanent Turkish troop presence, gives Turkey rights to militarily intervene and offers the minority Turkish Cypriots a veto right on all government decisions.
Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said despite any hurdles, the fact of Holguin鈥檚 appointment indicates that the U.N. consider the resumption of peace talks 鈥渃ompletely feasible.鈥
