Envoy Appointment ‘Expected After Easter’

“The procedures are expected to be completed, and the appointment will be announced in due course,” sources told the Cyprus News Agency.

The sources also denied rumours of “obstacles related to the financing of the envoy’s mission”, saying there is “no information about any such problem”.

“There are some issues which need to be completed through bureaucratic procedures, and then the appointment will be announced, with more information expected most likely after Easter,” the sources said.

Asked about preparations for the planned meeting of President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar which is scheduled for May 5, the sources said discussions are ongoing between Greek Cypriot chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Gunes Onar.

The pair most recently met on Wednesday, with another such meeting expected to take place next week.

The sources also reportedly “reiterated the Greek Cypriot side’s desire for this effort to move as soon as possible towards a phase of resuming the negotiation process”.

“The work which needs to be done between now and the enlarged meeting in July is to implement what was decided at the previous one and prepare the ground so that the next one is successful,” the sources said.

The sources reinforce comments made by UN special representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart on Wednesday.

He had said that the decision to name a new envoy was a “big outcome”, and that developments on the matter can be expected “very soon”.

He added that there had been “speculation as to who it is going to be”, and said that he could not confirm anything until it is announced amid speculation that Maria Angela Holguin, who served as envoy last year, may be reappointed.

“The point is that the appointment of an envoy is a very significant step in this effort because it both represents the results of some positive movement, and in and of itself accelerates those movements, so it is both a cause and effect,” he said.

Sources close to the government had earlier informed the Cyprus Mail that the Greek Cypriot side “would have no problem with Holguin being reappointed” following media reports that the Greek Cypriot side’s reaction to the idea of Holguin’s return “was not especially warm”.

Relations between Tatar and Holguin had seemed to sour towards the end of her six-month stint as envoy last year, with their final meeting in May last year lasting just 20 minutes.

Tatar later criticised Holguin’s modus operandi while in Cyprus, accusing her of “provoking the opposition and turning me into a target”.

“Her holding of meetings with some opposition groups is outside her job description. This is not a nice thing. She visited Akinci twice. Is this even possible?” he said.

“This sort of thing is not something that can be accepted diplomatically. She is taking steps to provoke the opposition and wear me down. I conveyed my discomfort to the appropriate authorities.”

Holguin herself had told news website Kibris Postasi she had been “surprised” Tatar had rejected a proposal of a tripartite meeting with herself and Christodoulides.

Source: CNA/Cyprus Mail