The UN Secretary-General`s Special Envoy for Cyprus, Jane Holl Lute, will visit the island on March 7-9, to hold meetings with the two sides, in the framework of the preparation for the informal 5+1 meeting on Cyprus scheduled to take place in Geneva, on April 27-29, CNA has learned.
During her visit, Lute will hold meetings with Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar. She is also expected to hold meetings with the two sides` negotiators. Before her meetings with the sides, Lute will meet with the UNSG`s Special Representative in Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar, and the members of the team on the Cyprus problem at the UNSG`s good offices mission, to be briefed on developments and meetings taking place on the ground.
Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a written statement, earlier this week, that “following the consultations conducted on behalf of the Secretary-General by a senior UN official, Ms. Jane Holl Lute, over the past several months, the Secretary-General intends to convene an informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus issue in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 April 2021.”
Furthermore, he noted that “the purpose of the meeting will be to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem within a foreseeable horizon.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
(CNA)
