There is a consensus on staffing the checkpoint to be set up in the buffer zone in the Pyla area, and this will be done by people authorised to carry out the checks, based on the Green Line regulation, a competent source who was asked about the matter told CNA. With respect to interviews of UN Secretary General’s Special Representative Colin Stewart to a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot newspaper on the Pyla agreement published today, the same source, when asked, clarified that the European Commission and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus are the ones responsible for authorising the persons who will staff the checkpoint and who will not be Cypriots. They will be people “from a third party, such as a third country, maybe UN officials, a non-governmental body”, the same source noted, adding that this has not yet been determined, nor has it been clarified whether this checkpoint will operate 24 hours a day. These issues will be finalised in the process, the same source concluded. It should be noted that in his interview with daily newspaper ‘Politis’, Colin Stewart said that the idea was discussed between the sides that the staffing of the checkpoint should be assigned to a country that already has personnel in the peacekeeping force and that country is Slovakia. In August 2023, the Turkish Cypriot side unilaterally announced its intention to build a road through the buffer zone between the villages of Pyla and occupied Arsos. Turkish Cypriots and settlers entered the buffer zone and attacked personnel and vehicles of UNFICYP, injuring a small number of peacekeepers. The international community, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, condemned the attack. Later on, discussions began aiming at resolving the issue. An understanding was reached on arrangements that will resolve the ongoing situation on the Pyla/Pile plateau, according to a statement by Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Deputy Special Adviser on Cyprus (DSASG), Colin Stewart on October 9, 2023. 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