Press Releases

With regard to the UN Secretary-General’s Good Offices and Peacekeeping Force Reports to the UN Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes the following:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the reaffirmation of the Secretary-General’s commitment to the ongoing effort to resume the negotiations process on the Cyprus issue and his reiteration that, in this context, he remains guided by the relevant Security Council Resolutions that have established the United Nations (UN) parameters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shares the importance that the Secretary-General attaches to promoting the implementation of the agreements of the informal dinner of 15th October 2024 and reiterates the Government's readiness to work constructively towards achieving this goal.

The Government also shares the concern expressed by the Secretary-General in both Reports, regarding the developments and the failure to reverse the previous illegal Turkish actions in the fenced area of Varosha. The Secretary-General reiterates Turkey's responsibility and stresses that the position of the UN as expressed in Security Council Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992) remains unchanged.

Regarding the situation in the buffer zone, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes the recording, in the Report on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), of violations by the occupying army within the buffer zone and in its vicinity, which aim to undermine the territorial integrity of the buffer zone and impose new faits accomplis.

At the same time, however, the long-standing tendency to maintain an equidistant approach often leads to the equating of incidents of dissimilar nature and gravity, giving rise to inaccurate impressions regarding the legitimate civil activity within the buffer zone. It is therefore required that the Reports objectively highlight the situation on the ground, the aggressive nature and seriousness of the violations by the occupying army, whose presence is constantly being upgraded in the occupied areas.

We also wish to recall the humanitarian mandate of the Peacekeeping Force and the need to clearly record and highlight Turkey's responsibilities both in relation to the living conditions of the enclaved as well as on the issue of the missing persons.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to cooperate constructively with both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus and the Office of Good Offices, for the effective implementation of their terms of reference and with the ultimate goal of achieving a comprehensive and just solution to the Cyprus issue on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

(AP/MS/IA)