The five permanent members of the UN Security Council assured Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, of their support to the appointment of a UNSG envoy on the Cyprus problem, during a working lunch he had with their Permanent Representatives in New York on Friday.
President Christodoulides briefed the permanent members about the meeting he had earlier with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and about the efforts he is making for the resumption of the negotiations, also through the activation of the EU. Moreover the issue of the recent incident in the buffer zone in Pyla was discussed, and President Christodoulides thanked the five permanent members for their stance on this issue.
CNA has learned that during the lunch President Christodoulides briefed the five permanent members that he decided and he will announce when the time is right unilateral measures of the Republic of Cyprus for the Turkish Cypriots. The permanent representatives of the five permanent members acknowledged the efforts he has been making and the fact that he has been taking certain initiatives.
Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said in statements after the lunch that the President briefed the five permanent members about the meeting he had with the UNSG.
Moreover he referred to the need for the appointment of an envoy by the UNSG so that he can look into the prospects for the resumption of the negotiations, he added.
Letymbiotis expressed satisfaction over the fact that the five UN Security Council Permanent Members share this view as well, recalling the recent unanimous statement of the UN Security Council by which it reiterated the need for this appointment.
Moreover, Letymbiotis said that the President informed the permanent representatives about "the efforts that our side has been making for the resumption of the negotiations, for the undertaking of an initiative, through the activation also of the EU", adding that "we look forward to their support for which they assured us."
Asked whether issues related to the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus and the incident in Pyla were discussed, he said that this issue was discussed and that the President thanked the five permanent members for their determined and decisive stance through the clear position they expressed," not only about the incident in Pyla but also by reiterating their commitment to the UN Security Council resolutions and to the appointment of an envoy.
Asked if the five permanent members will take any action to express their support, Letymbiotis noted that as the five permanent members of the Security Council share Nicosia's commitment to the Security Council resolutions and to the appointment of an envoy "their actions will help create the prospects, the conditions for the appointment of an envoy."
Asked if the mandate of this envoy was discussed, Letymbiotis said that his or her mandate will be to look into the prospects for the resumption of the negotiations and that he or she will contribute to this process so that negotiations can resume from where they were left off in Crans Montana.
Invited to say if there are any developments as regards the negotiations in Cyprus about the buffer zone in Pyla area, Letymbiotis said that there are no developments and that they are still in touch with the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus.
Members of the Security Council condemned on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, incidents in the buffer zone, in the village of Pyla, in Larnaca district, with assaults against UN peacekeepers, reiterating their full support for UNFICYP
They also condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers and the damage to UN vehicles by Turkish Cypriot personnel and wished a speedy and full recovery to the peacekeepers who were injured. They emphasized that "attacks against peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law and reaffirmed their full commitment to the safety of all UN personnel."
On Friday August 18, 2023 men of the occupation regime punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a U.N. controlled buffer zone.
The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency