Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar is the next name being promoted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the UN envoy on the Cyprus problem, it was officially confirmed from New York on Wednesday.
Cuellar’s name comes after the Turkish Cypriot side rejected the last person pegged for the position Australian Julie Bishop.
Cuellar served as foreign minister of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. She also served as the head of the Colombian mission to the UN and the ambassador of her country to Venezuela.
According to information from daily Politis, Cuellar meets all the criteria set out by the Turkish Cypriot side, which included that the individual could not be from either an EU country or a commonwealth country.
The Greek Cypriot side is said to have accepted the new name tabled by Guterres, with the whole matter now hemming on the Turkish Cypriot side’s acceptance.
Speaking about the rumour a new name would be announced on Monday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said: “We can meet if they appoint a personal representative, rather than carrying on with the federation approach. We are following the matter.”
If Cuellar is accepted, her appointment will not last more than six months, and will work towards what are now the low prospects of solving the Cyprus issue.
The envoy would also be expected in six months to establish if there are any points on which the two sides can cooperate, without any preconditions.
The Greek Cypriot side estimates that Tatar will accept Cuellar, as the announcement of her name also comes at a time when Turkey’s report from the EU was released and also Turkey is seeking to improve relations with its neighbour Greece.
In the first half the year, Cuellar will be expected to report on the positions of both sides.
Meanwhile, the two draft reports by Guterres are expected to be released to members of the UN Security Council in the second week of January, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported.
The reports concern the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) and its good offices on the island.
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