UNFICYP mandate renewed

THE UN Security Council last night urged the two leaders to intensify the momentum of their negotiations and to engage in a constructive and open manner.

The call was part of a Council resolution approving the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate for another six months until June 2011. Fourteen members of the Council voted for the resolution and one (Turkey) voted against.

The resolution makes several references to the contents of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent report on progress, or the lack thereof, in the ongoing talks, and calls on the two leaders to develop a practical plan for overcoming the major remaining points of disagreement in preparatkion of their meeting with Ban in Geneva at the end of next month.

It also calls on the sides to improve the public atmosphere in which the negotiations are proceeding, “including by focusing public messages on convergences and the way ahead, and delivering more constructive and harmonised messages”.

The Council expressed its own concern over the slow pace progress in recent months, stressing that the status quo was unsustainable.

“There now exists a unique opportunity to make decisive progress in a timely fashion,” said the resolution. It echoed Ban’s view that a solution was well within reach and that the leaders should

clearly to explain the benefits of the settlement to their respective communities well in advance of any eventual referenda.

The resolution came as President Demetris Christofias said last night the process was not going well, and blamed the Turkish side for the lack of progress.



The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.