Cyprus Talks: UN Secretary-General invites leaders of both communities to reflect on the possible road ahead

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has invited the leaders of the divided Cyprus island, Greek Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, to deeply  reflect on the results and on the possible road ahead, following the disappointing outcome in Crans-Montana.

In a special reference included in the Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Guterres noted that “as for the United Nations, the Organization’s role in the framework of the negotiations, as facilitator of the process, remains at the disposal of the parties.”

In the Report Guterres recommends that the Security Council extends the mandate of UNFICYP for six months, until 31 January 2018, at its current authorized strength.

The present report on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) covers developments from 16 December 2016 to 22 June 2017 and it also includes the latest developments in the negotiations.

Guterres commended Anastasiades and Akinci for their commitment throughout the more than two years of negotiations and acknowledged the efforts of the Guarantor Powers to work with the sides to find a mutually acceptable solution. “The fate of the process is in their hands”, he stressed.

Reflecting the strong commitment of the United Nations to support the negotiations towards a united Cyprus, I personally engaged the sides on 30 June and on 6 July in an effort to assist them, along with the Guarantor countries, to tackle the remaining core issues that would allow them to reach a strategic agreement on the Cyprus question. 

As mentioned in my remarks to the press in the early morning hours of 7 July in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, following a lengthy and complex round of negotiations, and despite the very strong commitment and engagement of the parties, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot delegations, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the European Union as observers, the Conference on Cyprus was closed without an agreement being reached,” he noted.

Describing the partnerships of the United Nations with local, regional and international actors, as critical to the ongoing efforts in Cyprus, Guterres said,

I would like to express thanks to these partners, and in particular to the European Commission which provided assistance in a number of areas during this reporting period, including via contributions for work on the two new crossing points to the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and to the Committee on Missing Persons, as well as to the critically important United Nations’ facilitation of the talks under the auspices of my mission of Good Offices.

In his reference to the political developments of the last six months, Guterres noted that the negotiations between Nicos Anastasiades, and Mustafa Akıncı, underwent periods of high intensity and unprecedented progress, but also faced various challenges and moments of no progress.

He referred especially to the Conference on Cyprus convened on 12 January 2017 in Geneva with the participation of the Guarantor Powers – Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom –and in the presence of the European Union as an observer.

The Conference on Cyprus marked a historic and decisive phase in the Cyprus talks as it was the first time the above-mentioned actors came together to discuss the chapter of security and guarantees, the sixth and last chapter of the negotiations,” he said.

Following the convening of the Conference on Cyprus, Guterres said that the sides continued to work on the island, mostly on four of the six chapters – governance and power-sharing, economy, property and EU matters – with regular meetings held between the leaders and the negotiators, as well as work conducted at the experts’ level.

In the period between 16 February and 11 April, the process however entered a hiatus due to controversy between the sides over the decision by the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus to introduce an annual commemoration in public schools of the 1950 referendum on ‘Enosis’ (Union) with Greece. The negotiations resumed on 11 April and, in the period that followed, the leaders and negotiators engaged in frequent meetings which registered some progress, albeit at a slow pace”, he said.

The statement noted that progress in the chapter of security and guarantees was an essential element for reaching an overall agreement and in building trust between the two communities in relation to their future security. It was also agreed to continue in parallel the bi-communal negotiations on all other outstanding issues, starting with territory, property, and governance and power sharing.

Guterres, in his Report underlined that UNFICYP continues to play an important role in maintaining a calm and secure environment in Cyprus and in facilitating communications across the divide.

This has provided space for the rebuilding of trust between the communities, and has enabled conditions conducive to constructive negotiations between the sides. It is important that these gains are consolidated during the coming period, he said.

Guterres, urged both communities to exert efforts to create a climate conducive to achieving greater economic and social parity between the two sides and to widen and deepen economic, social, cultural, sporting or similar ties and contacts, including with a view to encouraging trade.

Such contacts promote trust between the communities and help to address the Turkish Cypriots’ concerns regarding isolation. I urge both leaders to persist in addressing those issues”, he added.

Guterres said that as requested by the Security Council, the joint working group established by UNFICYP, which includes my mission of Good Offices and is supported by relevant headquarters departments, continued to conduct planning for transition in relation to a settlement.

Such planning remained focused on the several key areas of United Nations support in a post-settlement period, which had been agreed in principle by the negotiators in the presence of my Special Adviser and my Special Representative in November 2016. During the reporting period, further discussions between the sides on the details of potential UN support to the implementation of a settlement were limited”, he noted.

Source: Cyprus Mail.