Ανακοινωθέντα

Το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας του Οργανισμού των Ηνωμένων Εθνών, υπό την προεδρία του Μονίμου Αντιπροσώπου τoυ Βιετνάμ, Πρέσβη Dang Dinh Quy, είχε σήμερα (20.1.20) το πρωί, κλειστές διαβουλεύσεις για την Ειρηνευτική Δύναμη των Ηνωμένων Εθνών στην Κύπρο, UNFICYP. Κατά τη διάρκεια των διαβουλεύσεων, η Ειδική Αντιπρόσωπος του Γενικού-Γραμματέα του ΟΗΕ στην Κύπρο και επικεφαλής της UNFICYP, κα Elizabeth Spehar, ενημέρωσε τα μέλη του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας, ενόψει της ψηφοφορίας για την υιοθέτηση του ψηφίσματος για ανανέωση της θητείας της Δύναμης, της οποίας η εντολή λήγει στις 31 Ιανουαρίου. Το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας αναμένεται να ανανεώσει τη θητεία της UNFICP σε ανοικτή συνεδρίαση στις 30 Ιανουαρίου.

Αμέσως μετά την ενημέρωση, η κα Spehar, προέβη στις πιο κάτω δηλώσεις προς τους δημοσιογράφους και απάντησε σε ερωτήσεις τους.

Spehar: “Hello, good morning. As you know I just briefed the Security Council on Cyprus and I was pleased to see once again that there continues to be strong and unanimous support on the part of the Council for the Cyprus peace process as well as for the work of the Good Offices and UNFICYP on the ground.

During the briefing, I reminded the Council members that the peace process remains in hiatus. We haven’t had talks for two and a half years since the closing of the Conference on Cyprus in July of 2017 in Crans Montana.

I did also recall however, the encouraging meeting that took place recently in Berlin in November of 2019, between the Secretary-General, Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Akinci. It was the first time that the two leaders met with the Secretary-General together, since the closing of the Conference on Cyprus in July 2017 and in that respect it was indeed significant. During the meeting, which was an informal meeting between the two leaders and the Secretary-General, the leaders reconfirmed in the presence of Secretary-General Mr. Guterres, their commitment to a comprehensive settlement within a foreseeable horizon, based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality as set out in the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 716 (1991).

I also highlighted to the Security Council that according to recent polls in Cyprus, remains a strong desire for a comprehensive settlement in both communities. But at the same time there is a growing skepticism as to whether is still possible. The leaders’ role remains critical and the role of the guarantor countries is of course also key to arriving at a solution. And this is something I again underscored to the Security Council.

The Secretary-General has urged the leaders, the guarantor powers and other interested parties to make productive use of the coming period in order to concretely and convincingly demonstrate that upon in a return to the negotiating table, this time it would indeed be different.

I emphasized to the Council at the same time, that the backdrop to the recent developments in Berlin, is a regional situation where tensions have continued to grow over the last weeks and months. As the Secretary-General outlined in his report, he continues to monitor these developments, including related to hydrocarbons, closely and with concern.

The Secretary-General reiterated his call for serious efforts to avoid any further escalation and to defuse tensions. In this overall context, UNFICYP has continued to maintain calm and stability in the buffer zone. It has also support a great of cooperation between the two communities. We believe that this remains critical requirements if we are ultimately to ensure that a sustainable peace is achieved on the island. I also underscored to the Security Council the importance of the sides respecting UNFICYP’s mandate and authority, in and around the buffer zone, to ensure that the Mission can successfully fulfill its mandate.

Thank you.”

Question: I have a question about UNFICYP. Can you make a clarification please? I heard from the report that 1/3 of the budget is paid by the Greek Cypriot administration and also Greece is making a contribution. So, how do you think this work? I mean regarding the impartiality and objectivity of UNFICYP towards the Turkish Cypriot people, because I’m writing for Turkish Cypriot people. Also, is there any other Mission that gets money from the countries that are part of these conflicts of the Missions? Can you make a clarification please?

Spehar: Thank you very much. Yes I can only speak on the situation of UNFICYP, but indeed we do get a significant portion of the funding from Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, but I can assure you that this does not affect the objectivity and impartiality of the Mission.

Question: According to the report and what you tell us we have a “wait and see” situation until April when the Turkish Cypriots will elect and new leader and also if you could brief us about your meetings in Washington.

Spehar: Yes, thank you very much. So with respect to whether there is a “wait and see” period, as you’ve recalled in Berlin after the meeting between the Secretary-General and the two leaders a statement was released and it did show the UN’s commitment to support the holding of a 5+UN meeting at an appropriate stage. So at this moment there is no specific time table for that, but what I can tell you is that all parties are quite interested in this meeting taken place as soon as it is appropriate and we would wait to see when that might actually happen in the coming period.

 As for my meetings in Washington, I spent two days in Washington before coming to New York, and was able to speak with senior representatives of the US State, as well as the National Security Council and some individuals on the Hill in Congress, and they continue to be very supportive of the Cyprus peace process and on both Missions, Good Offices and UNFICYP on the ground.

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