The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, said she remains willing and dedicated to her mission to identify common ground to engage both sides towards finding a sustainable solution.

At the same time, she urged everyone to connect with the opportunities that a change would bring on the island and transform the hardship of the past to a foundation for a sustainable future.

At the end of her second visit to the island since her appointment, Holguin said in a statement that she remains willing and dedicated to her mission to identify common ground to engage both sides towards finding a sustainable solution.

“In this second visit, I had the opportunity to meet with the two leaders, as well as with political parties, city mayors, chambers of commerce, journalists, religious leaders, associations, think tanks, and civil society representatives. I have listened to all points of view and perspectives to better understand the main difficulties and opportunities”, she said.

At times, she added, “it seems that all the paths have been tried and that change is not possible”.

However, said Holguin, “there are always voices that reveal the resilience of societies that dream of a different life and that show that hope is a necessity and an obligation”.

The past, the PESG said, “brings memories of pain and frustration, but also provide us lessons to help build the future and achieve solutions for the benefit of all Cypriots”.

At this point she said “how good it would be for everyone to connect with the individual and collective opportunities that a change would bring, thus transforming the hardships of the past into the foundation for a sustainable future”.

Concluding, Holguin said her “mission is to identify if there is common ground to engage both sides towards finding a sustainable solution. In the remaining months, I am willing and committed to continuing my best efforts to fulfill the UN Secretary-General’s request”.

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.

In January, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Holguín 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.