Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will receive UN envoy Jane Holl Lute on the 22nd of June, it was officially announced on Saturday.
According to the Press and Information Office, the meeting will take place at 09:30 at the Presidential Palace.
As CNA reported on Friday, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Cyprus, continues her consultations to see if there is any common ground to build on, a UN source has told CNA, noting that at the moment there is no common ground.
The same source noted that there is no requirement for the UNSG to hold another 5+1 informal meeting on Cyprus, adding that Lute will not recommend to him to convene another such meeting, unless she sees common ground to build on.
Lute is said to arrive on the island on June 21. The next day she will hold a meeting with the UNSG`s Special Representative in Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar. At 0930 local time, she will be received by resident Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace. After midday she will meet Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, in the Turkish occupied areas.
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.
A 5+1 Informal Meeting that took place in Geneva, on April 27-29, failed to find enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations in relation to the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
UN Secretary – General, Antonio Guterres, has said that he will convene in the near future another meeting of the 5+1, the five plus the United Nations, again with the objective to move in the direction of reaching common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start.
Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, is often described as a ‘ghost town’. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.
On October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.
