New US Ambassador to Cyprus visits buffer zone

The new Ambassador of the USA to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, had a meeting on Thursday with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of UNFICYP, Colin Stewart at the UN-protected area in Nicosia.

Fischer visited the UN-protected area to discuss UNFICYP's work on the island, according to a tweet by the United Nations mission to Cyprus.

The ambassador said in a tweet that the UN “has played a vital role in Cyprus for decades” and that, she “welcomed the opportunity” to meet with Colin Stewart and the team of the UN in Cyprus “to discuss how we can best support efforts to reunify the island.”

The UN has played a vital role in Cyprus for decades. I welcomed the opportunity to meet with Colin Stewart and the @UN_CYPRUS team to discuss how we can best support efforts to reunify the island. https://t.co/iFbAXrvFOm

— Ambassador Julie Fisher (@USAmbCy) March 2, 2023

As mentioned in another tweet by the UN, Stewart also had a meeting with the new Ambassador of Spain to Cyprus, Gabriel Ferrán Carrión, to discuss the UN peace-building efforts on the island.

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.