London Thanasis Gavos

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, received during the official meetings she had at the Foreign Office on Thursday assurances of the support of her work by the British government, says a statement from the UK High Commission in Nicosia.

Ms Holguin was welcomed by Under-Secretaries of State Lord Ahmad and Leo Doherty, whose portfolios include United Nations and European affairs respectively.

As the statement notes, the UN official’s visit to London is part of her contacts with all guarantor powers as part of consultations with key partners in the process on how progress can be made.

“Both deputy ministers reiterated their support for her mandate to seek common ground on the Cyprus issue. The Deputy Ministers appreciated Ms. Holguin’s initial thoughts on the situation in Cyprus, following her recent visit to the island last month. The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss observations from previous settlement talks“, says the statement of the Commission.

It is added that the United Kingdom hopes that Ms. Holgin will be able to work together with the leaderships of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to enable the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus issue.

The statement concludes: “The UK is a strong supporter of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue, through a Cypriot-led process under the parameters of the United Nations. We will continue to work closely with all Cypriots and other international partners, through existing structures and diplomatic channels, including our role as rapporteur on Cyprus at the United Nations Security Council».