Cyprus Talks: UN could pull out of Cyprus if talks fail - Reports

United Nations Special Envoy to Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday to brief him on the Cyprus negotiations so far saying that they had a “thorough, strategic discussion” on the “way ahead”.


UNSG Guterres has put forward a series of suggestions which Eide will present to the two Cypriot community leaders reports Cyprus Mail.

Since the reunification talks resumed two years ago, the UN has stressed  its position for the talks to be Cypriot led.

According to Cyprus Mail, UNSG Guterres is however putting up ideas on how to keep the talks going, an indication of how seriously the international community takes the prospect of the negotiations collapsing.

In the event that the Cyprus Talks failed, the UN could withdraw all or most of its 800 military personnel in the island, the report added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C), Turkish Cypriot president Mustafa Akinci (L) and Greek Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades (R)

The Cyprus mission, UN sources suggested, falls under the criteria set in deciding the future of UN presence around the world, implying that, if the ongoing talks were to fail, not only UN efforts to facilitate a solution.

Although hardliners from South are saying that these reports are regarded as an effort to force the South into agreeing to an unworkable solution, it seems the pressure is mainly coming from the Trump administration which is cutting US funding to the UN said the report.

Cyprus Mail.