UK Minister for Europe Leo Docherty has reaffirmed the British government’s support for the UN-led process towards a settlement to the long-standing Cyprus issue. He was responding to a written question by Conservative MP Giles Watling on what assessment the Foreign Office has made of the role of the UK ‘in helping to preserve peace in Cyprus’. ‘We remain committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a just and lasting Cyprus settlement within the UN parameters,’ said Docherty. He referenced the relevant reassurance given by the UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to his then counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides in November. The minister added: ‘The UK engages with all parties on this and contributes to the settlement process in a number of ways, including through our deployment of military personnel to UN Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus. In January we led the drafting of the UN Security Council resolution to renew the mandate of the Peacekeeping Force, which was unanimously adopted by the UNSC, maintaining the Council’s longstanding unity on Cyprus.’
Source: Cyprus News Agency