Assistant UNSG holds separate meetings with Christodoulides and Tatar

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Miroslav Jenča begins contacts in Nicosia on Monday, 28 August.

He will meet separately with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar.

Asked about Jenca’s visit to Cyprus and the meeting they will have at the Presidential Palace, President of the Republic Nicos Christodoulides has said that "it is important that he is in Cyprus and these meetings will take place”. He said the UN diplomat “is coming on behalf of the UN Secretary-General on the occasion of the UN General Assembly so that he can specifically explore the prospects for resuming talks".

President Christodoulides described Jenca’s presence as “important”, adding that “it is also an indication of the importance that the Secretary-General himself attaches. Of course, what matters most is getting results”.

Florencia Soto Niño, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General has said that Jenča will be in Cyprus from 27 to 29 August for separate meetings with the leaders adding that the discussions are expected to focus on the way forward on the Cyprus issue and recent developments on the ground.

Jenca, who will leave the island on Tuesday 29 August, will also meet with the UN peacekeepers who were in the buffer zone in the Pyla area and were attacked by men of the occupation regime.

Jenča will also attend a meeting on Monday morning, before his separate meetings with President, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, with UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Colin Stewart, and the good offices mission team who will brief him on the latest developments.

Stewart has been engaged in discussions with both sides on the island with a view to finding a mutually acceptable way forward on the issue of the buffer zone in the Pyla area.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Members of the Security Council condemned on Tuesday, 22 August 2023, the incidents in the buffer zone, in the village of Pyla, in Larnaca district, with assaults against UN peacekeepers, reiterating their full support for UNFICYP 

They also condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers and the damage to UN vehicles by Turkish Cypriot personnel and wished a speedy and full recovery to the peacekeepers who were injured. They emphasized that "attacks against peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law and reaffirmed their full commitment to the safety of all UN personnel."

On Friday, 18 August 18, 2023, Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled buffer zone. 

The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish-occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.

(Source: CNA)