UN security council renews Unficyp mandate

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday voted unanimously to renew the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for six more months until January 2017.

UN Secretary General`s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, the UNSG`s Special Representative in Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar, briefed thoroughly on Monday the members of Council on the course of the UN-led negotiations on the Cyprus problem, between Cyprus President Nicos Anastiades and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci. Eide also briefed earlier the UN Secretary General, during a meeting they had.

In statements to the press, after briefing the Security Council members, Eide said that the Council expressed strong support of every one of the 15 members once again. “They said that they recognize the effort that is being made by the leaders, they give strong support to the process and the way the process is organized, and they also give strong support to the way the UN mission is working,” he noted.

“We shared with them that over the last weeks and months there have been significant developments in the talks, and it is clear that maybe the old format of negotiations has largely come to an end, and the two leaders are largely taking personal charge of all issues,” he added.

He said that “in a week from now we will at least have the preliminary discussion also on the issues which so far have not been touched upon, including territory and security and guarantees. Then there will be a short break and then we believe that the leaders sincerely want to make the most out of August and September until again there is a meeting here, this time in the UN General Assembly,” he noted.

Eide reiterated that “events in the neighborhood over the last weeks have illustrated a crucial point, which is that the window for a solution in Cyprus remains open but it will definitely not remain open forever.”

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.