United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, arrived on the island Friday for a new round of diplomatic consultations with Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders aimed at advancing efforts to resolve the long-standing Cyprus dispute.
Holguin met with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides on Friday before holding separate talks with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhürman on Monday, Nov. 2.
According to Greek Cypriot media reports, Holguin's meeting with Erhürman is expected to take place at 11:30 a.m. Monday, the Greek Cypriot news agency CNA reported.
The separate consultations are expected to pave the way for a trilateral meeting involving Holguin and the two leaders on Nov. 9 under U.N. auspices.
The upcoming talks are expected to focus on confidence-building measures, negotiation methodology and ways to maintain dialogue between the two sides.
The United Nations previously said the leaders had continued exchanging views on confidence-building measures, the methodology of negotiations and substantive issues related to the Cyprus dispute.
Holguin's latest visit follows a U.N.-facilitated meeting between Erhürman and Christodoulides on Oct. 27, during which the leaders discussed crossing points, the status of Varosha and the framework for potential negotiations.
Following the Oct. 27 meeting, Christodoulides said he and Erhürman had agreed to refrain from making further public statements on substantive aspects of the Cyprus dispute ahead of Holguin's visit.
The move was intended to allow the upcoming diplomatic consultations to proceed without additional public disagreements over sensitive negotiating issues.
Greek Cypriot media reports suggested that Holguin's visit would concentrate on confidence-building measures and outstanding differences between the two sides.
However, the reports indicated that no concrete progress had yet been achieved toward formally restarting comprehensive settlement negotiations.
The planned Nov. 9 trilateral meeting is expected to provide another opportunity to assess the prospects for further engagement and determine possible next steps in the U.N.-led diplomatic process.
