With no change in Cyprus positions, Annan proposes extending UN mission
Despite calls from the sides in Cyprus for a renewal of his diplomacy, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report that there has been no evolution in their positions and recommends a six-month extension in the mandate of the United Nations mission (UNFICYP) which has been deployed on the island for over four decades.
Despite calls from the sides in Cyprus for a renewal of his diplomacy, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report that there has been no evolution in their positions and recommends a six-month extension in the mandate of the United Nations mission (UNFICYP) which has been deployed on the island for over four decades.
In his report to the Security Council released today, Mr. Annan notes that over the past six months, both the Greek Cypriot leader and the Turkish Cypriot leader renewed their calls for a resumption of his mission of good offices. “While there were signals of some willingness to begin to re-engage, there have been no tangible indicators of an evolution in the respective positions,” he observes.
The Secretary-General’s envoy, Michael Møller has started to explore options to encourage progress on the ground and possibilities for a resumption of contacts between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, which had been suspended for over two years.
Specifically, Mr. Møller has been seeking to establish a mechanism for them to engage on issues of common concern through bicommunal discussions at the technical level.
These talks, the Secretary-General says, would serve as a “step aimed at building trust and understanding, paving the way for the resumption of full-scale negotiations leading to a comprehensive settlement,” and are not intended to substitute for that process.
“Only the achievement of a comprehensive settlement will bring an end to the Cyprus problem,” Mr. Annan asserts. “In the absence of such a comprehensive settlement, the presence of UNFICYP on the island continues to be necessary,” he adds, proposing that the Council extend its mandate through 15 December.
Urging the parties to resume contacts and to begin to think about how to re-engage in the search for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, the Secretary-General says “there is a need to match words with action.”
He repeats his stated intention to dispatch Ibrahim Gambari, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, to Cyprus, Greece and Turkey in the near future to assess the political situation and the prospects for a full resumption of good offices.
Established in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, UNFICYP remains on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, maintain a buffer zone, and undertake humanitarian activities.