UN Secretary-General Personal Envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, has contacted the sides and tested the waters regarding the possibility of a trilateral meeting between the UN Secretary-General, the President of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot leader, on August 13 at the headquarters of the international organisation in New York, CNA has learnt.
The same sources said the Office of the Secretary-General directly contacted the offices of President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and that President Christodoulides immediately responded positively.
Deputy Spokesperson for the UNSG, Farhan Haq, responding to a question by CNA on the matter, said that no invitations have been sent.
‘As far as I am aware, no invitations have been sent to the two leaders. I will let you know if that changes’, Haq said.
Diplomatic sources told CNA that ‘the waters have been tested not once, but repeatedly’, and that ‘the Republic of Cyprus has responded positively to the possibility of an
official invitation for a trilateral meeting.’
President Christodoulides said last week that the UN proposed a trilateral meeting in New York on August 13 involving UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and himself and that he accepted the proposal.
In relation to Tatar’s statements in Turkish Cypriot media that he would not be travelling to New York, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Monday expressed hope that the Turkish Cypriot leader would reconsider and accept the UN Secretary General’s proposal for a joint meeting.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Guterres appointed last January María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on
the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source : Cyprus News Agency