NICOSIA: A newly appointed UN envoy for Cyprus said Saturday she'll work hard to ensure concrete progress in measures to build trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in hopes of reviving moribund talks to heal the island nation's half-century ethnic division.
Maria Angela Holguin said her weeklong stay in Cyprus aims to generate tangible results ahead of a July meeting in Geneva that will bring together UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, along with top diplomats from Greece, Turkey and the UK.
Negotiations have been stalled since 2017.
Trust-building measures include talks on opening new crossing points along a 180-kilometre UN control buffer zone that divides a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north from a Greek Cypriot south, where the internationally-recognised government is seated.
Other measures that Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar agreed to implement in front of Guterres during a March meeting in Geneva included work on a photovoltaic park inside the buffer zone, demining and restoration work on cemeteries on either side of the divide.
Cyprus was split in 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island's northern third.
Holguin said Guterres “continues to push” for a resumption of Cyprus peace talks. But that prospect faces a difficult hurdle in the form of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot insistence on a peace deal based on two equal states, instead of a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones that formed the basis of decades of UN-mediated negotiations.
While Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots say the federation idea is now bankrupt, Greek Cypriots say they won't assent to any accord that formally partitions the island, allows for a permanent Turkish troop presence, gives Turkey rights to militarily intervene and offers the minority Turkish Cypriots a veto right on all government decisions.
Cyprus government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said despite any hurdles, the fact of Holguin's appointment indicates that the UN consider the resumption of peace talks “completely feasible.”