Cyprus: UN envoy Holguín seeks informal five-party meeting before year-end
María Ángela Holguín met President Christodoulides in Nicosia. She named three areas for progress – from confidence-building measures to the core issues.
Symbolic image · Photo: Iakovos Hatzistavrou, European Commission / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, has reaffirmed the United Nations' commitment to advancing the Cyprus issue. “We are pushing and we will keep pushing,” she said after meeting Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace. Holguín expressed optimism that an informal conference in the five-party format could take place before the end of 2026.
Her mandate from UN Secretary-General António Guterres is to explore every avenue for progress until the end of his term, she said. She named three areas where movement is needed: confidence-building measures, the methodology of future talks and the substantive issues. Holguín welcomed the direct meetings between Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.
Speaking at the summit of the Organisation of Turkic States in Ankara, Erhürman said the Turkish Cypriot leadership would keep working towards a solution “in close consultation and cooperation with Turkey”. The north of the island is recognised as an independent state only by Turkey.