Türkiye expects newly appointed UN envoy's report to reflect realities in Cyprus

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Türkiye on Friday wished success to Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar who was appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his personal envoy on Cyprus.

"We emphasize our expectation that her report will objectively reflect the positions of the sides and the realities on the Island, draw the necessary conclusions and put on record which realistic future course of action could be followed based on these conclusions," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) gave their consent to the said appointment on two conditions, the ministry stated.

"The first is that the mandate of the Personal Envoy shall be limited to exploring whether common ground exists or not between the two sides on the Island for the start of new, formal settlement negotiations.

"The second is that the duration of the Personal Envoy’s mandate shall not exceed six months," it added.

According to the reports of Guterres, it said there is no common ground between the two sides on the Island as it is clear that the federal solution model, which has been repeatedly negotiated for more than half a century, is "outdated and exhausted."

Stressing that the model has never been realized due to the "intransigent attitude" of the Greek Cypriot side, the ministry said the indispensable precondition for the start of any new negotiation process in Cyprus is the reaffirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people.

"Reaching a common ground between the two sides will therefore only be possible within the framework of this understanding. Embarking yet again on a process seeking a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, whose life has expired, is out of the question.

"This being the case, it is clear that the six-month mandate of the Personal Envoy will be more than sufficient to ascertain, without leaving any room for misunderstanding, whether common ground exists or not between the two sides on the Island to start new, formal settlement negotiations," it added.

Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Holguin who served as minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia between 2010-2018.

He also asked Holguin to assume a good offices role on his behalf to search for common ground on the way forward and to advise him on the Cyprus issue.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Türkiye is a guarantor country for the TRNC and fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.