UN chief’s personal envoy on Cyprus to visit island next week

The UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for Cyprus will travel to the island next week to hold a new round of talks with Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders, the UN said on Friday.

Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar will travel to Cyprus next week, meeting separately with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, respectively, on Tuesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

During her visit, she will also hold discussions with the representatives of the two leaders and members of the Technical Committee on Youth and the Committee on Missing Persons, among other interlocutors, said Dujarric.

The Colombian diplomat was appointed as the secretary-general's envoy last year in January to explore prospects for resuming stalled peace talks on the divided island.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.