The United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar, is set to undertake a new round of visits to Cyprus from 3 to 11 November, according to the Turkish news agency ANKA.
During her trip, Holguín will meet with leaders from both sides of the island, as well as officials from Turkey and Greece, in an effort to assess the climate for resuming negotiations on the Cyprus issue.
Sources close to the matter told Politis to the Point, that the new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of UNFICYP, Khassim Diagne was likely to meet with the two leaders next week.
Though the dates were not yet finalised, Diagne is slated to meet with President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday and newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman on Thursday.
'Conflict benefits no one'
In an interview with ANKA news agency, Erhürman has described relations with Turkey as transcending “ordinary diplomatic limits between two states,” citing a “historical community and mutual trust,”
Erhürman stated that his administration will pursue “full dialogue and harmony” with Ankara both in foreign policy and in the context of Cyprus negotiations, noting that “conflict benefits no one, while dialogue is the key to progress.”
He further added that, following the elections, he intends to set aside partisan affiliation and perform his duties “with equal distance from all social groups, within the framework of legality.” He highlighted the need for “a new era of open and healthy communication, aimed at quickly eliminating prejudices between Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish public.”
Seasoned diplomat
In the evening preceding his swearing-in, Erhürman convened the leadership of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) to thank members who had contributed to the election campaign, stating that “the CTP will continue to represent the hopes of the people.”
ANKA also reported that Erhürman announced his first appointment, naming seasoned diplomat Mehmet Dana as Secretary-General of the Presidency.
Dana, who has participated in previous Cyprus negotiation teams, was appointed in a move interpreted as a signal of “institutional continuity” both in internal governance and in the diplomatic arena.