The government said on Wednesday it expected the UN to appoint a special envoy on the Cyprus problem, as was agreed during the informal tripartite meeting in New York on Monday, but by nightfall no new announcement had been made.

The UN itself has yet to announce the details of Monday’s meeting between UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.

In that announcement it is widely expected that a new special envoy will be unveiled.

But on Wednesday evening the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric was asked about the delayed announcement and the details therein and replied that he himself was not privy to the developments.

Earlier on Wednesday, government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said during the lunch between Guterres with Anastasiades and Tatar, the UNSG said he will appoint a special envoy because the Security Council must have a say in what was being discussed.

“Despite initially opposing the appointment of a special envoy, Mr Tatar accepted in the course of the discussion; there was a conclusion, and it was decided to appoint a special envoy,” Pelekanos told the Cyprus News Agency.

“We expect what was agreed during the lunch to be implemented,” he said, adding that it appears the Turkish side had changed its mind afterwards.

Whether a statement is issued by the UN or not, the Greek Cypriot side expects the UNSG to appoint a special envoy “as agreed at the lunch”.

Guterres was expected to announce the appointment of a new special envoy for Cyprus, replacing Jane Holl Lute, to discuss confidence-building measures (CBMs) but also the possibility of finding common ground to resume the dialogue between the two sides.

Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties meanwhile expressed disappointment over the outcome of the informal meeting.

In a joint communique issued by the Embassy of Slovakia, “leaders and representatives of G/C and T/C political parties participating at the bi-communal meetings at the Ledra Palace Hotel met today through the video teleconference in order to discuss the outcome from the informal meeting of leaders of both Cypriot communities hosted by UN Secretary-General in New York last Monday.”

It is noted that “they expressed disappointment with the fact that the meeting did not provide any result for the resumption of negotiations on agreed basis.”

Participants welcomed the decision to appoint a new special envoy dealing with the possibility of finding a common ground to resume the political dialogue towards the reunification of Cyprus as well as to discuss CBMs aiming at the strengthening the trust between the two communities.