The UK Minister for Europe has highlighted the importance of all sides in Cyprus cooperating fully with the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP), as well as restated London’s support for a settlement to the Cyprus issue within the UN parameters.
Leo Docherty was responding to a letter regarding the CMP by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK to former Prime Minister Liz Truss; and he has also addressed the content of a second Federation letter, addressed to the current PM Rishi Sunak on the recent dark anniversary of the illegal Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the pseudo-state in the occupied northern part of Cyprus.
In his letter to Federation President Christos Karaolis, the Minister states that the UK “maintains close contact” with the Committee on Missing Persons as the entity mandated to search for, recover, identify and return to their families, the remains of Cypriots from both communities.
He points to the UK ensuring language was included in the renewal of the mandate for the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, calling on all parties to enhance their cooperation with the CMP, “explicitly through providing full access, without delay, to all areas and responding in a timely manner to requests for archival information on possible burial sites”.
Docherty argues that the best way to address the situation remains through a just and lasting settlement on the island “in line with UN resolutions”, and adds that the UK remains committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a Cyprus settlement and actively engages with all parties on this.
He also refers to the visit to London by the Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides on 15th November, during which he reaffirmed the willingness for close and strengthened cooperation towards a just and lasting settlement in meetings with both Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the Minister of State responsible for the UN Lord Ahmad.
The Minister for Europe concludes that the UK has been consistently calling for all sides to avoid any actions or statements that could damage the prospects for a settlement, and that it will continue to contribute to a settlement, “including through advocating a solution in line with UN parameters based on the model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation – a model that is internationally accepted and one that we believe to be broad enough to address the concerns of both sides.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency