Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Friday that the UN Secretary – General Antonio Guterres intends to extend the contract of his Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar. Kombos also said that on Sunday he will leave for the USA, where he will hold a series of contacts in the framework of the presentation of Cyprus’ candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council.
The Foreign Minister was speaking to journalists after a meeting held at the Presidential Palace between the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides and the envoy of the UN Secretary General for humanitarian aid to Gaza, Sigrid Kaag. Asked if there is any indication as to when the UNSG’s Personal Envoy will return to Cyprus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that there they are aware that there is an intention to extend Holguin’s contract.
This implies, he added, that she will return there where the diplomatic effort is being conducted, which is primarily in Cyprus. He said that he expected that immediately after th
e completion of the formal procedures in New York, in the immediate future, she would return to Cyprus. The Foreign Minister noted that this is an issue that primarily concerns Holguin and the UN Secretary-General himself.
Asked about the next steps in relation to the Cyprus issue, Kombos referred to his recent visit to Egypt, where, as he noted, the Cyprus issue discussed, among other issues, and thanked the Egyptian side “for the strong support to Cyprus in all international fora on issues concerning Cyprus, maintaining a firm position of principles”.
He also said that on Sunday he will depart for the US and that as part of this visit there he will have meetings both in Washington and in New York, within the framework of the UN, where the candidacy of the Republic of Cyprus for the Human Rights Council will be presented, in view of the elections for the members of the Council that will take place in October.
“If we are elected, it will be the first time that we achieve this. It is a very difficult proces
s, but we will continue the effort,” he pointed out.
He furthermore noted that an event will be held at the UN regarding the 60 years of the UN peacekeeping force presence in Cyprus and then he will go to Washington where he will have a series of contacts at all levels with US officials.
He said that talks will focus on the Cyprus issue, “the excellent relations with the USA which are now on another dimension, in the context of a strategic cooperation which is being formed and the tangible results which we can all see,” and referred to the cooperation with the US on the humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza as such an example.
Asked if he will have a meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Kombos noted that Guterres will be in Jordan and that the Summit on Ukraine will follow. He added that he will hold meetings with other top UN officials during which issues concerning the Cyprus issue will be discussed, as well as issues that have more to do with the peacekeeping force and its role in Cyprus.
Invited to comment on the statements of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, that he is ready in view of an informal meeting in Susa in July for the accession of the illegal regime in Cyprus’ Turkish occupied areas, as a regular member, to the Turkic States summit, Kombos noted that this issue has been going on for long and spoke of an “extraordinary” attempt to amend the statute of the Organization of Turkic States.
“The proposed amendment has not yet been ratified. However, we can see that the illegal regime is invited as an observer in various such meetings”, he added.
He noted that at the moment, especially as regards Azerbaijan, “there is a particular degree of difficulty in influencing how they approach these kind of issues, and the intention of the Turkish side is to use this particular organization as a vehicle for the benefit of a so called or substantial upgrading of the illegal occupation entity”. This, too, is part of these plans, he added.
Kombos noted that the formalities related to the
ratification of the amendment have not yet been completed. “The intention is there by some of the participants, for some others there is no such intention at this stage, but it is a field in which the influence of the Turkish side is particularly strong,” he added.
Nevertheless, “as always, we are makin efforts to prevent this”, he added, noting that, “formally and informally, there is representation in some cases due to the special relations that exist either with Turkey or with Azerbaijan.”
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. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Columbia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus N
ews Agency