President Christodoulides held his first talks this morning with the newly-appointed UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of UNFICYP Khassim Diagne during an interim period before the return on the island next month of the Guterres personal envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, who will sound out the two sides on the timeframe of an informal five-party conference expected before the end of the year.
The Senegalese seasoned diplomat, now top UN official in Cyprus, has replaced recently retired Colin Stewart. Upon his arrival on the island, Diagne said he felt honoured and grateful, looking forward to working with all parties on the road ahead. His experience of international affairs runs nearly 30 decades, holding senior UN leadership positions.
The UN Secretary-General has held two informal meetings on Cyprus this year, the first of which was hosted in Geneva last March, followed by a July meeting in New York.
A tripartite conference with President Christodoulides and former Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September, with Guterres announcing his plans for yet another five-party effort.
Holguín is tasked with engaging with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in coordination with the UN official.