Cyprus Update: Unite Nations Secretary General calls on Cypriot leaders to intensify efforts towards reconciliation

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had on Friday morning through a tell phone conservation urge Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and his counterpart Mustafa Akinci to
intensify their efforts towards reunifying Cyprus. This was announced by the Government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides via his twitter account.

 
The call is coming just days after the fuss over the surprise invitation of North Cyprus leader Mustafa Akinci to a dinner in Istanbul on Monday as part of the World Humanitarian Summit. hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the honor of the Heads of State and Government which attended the Summit

Anastasiades who took part in the summit as president of Cyprus decided to leave Istanbul a day early, cancelling a scheduled meeting with Akinci and blaming the UN for ‘the mess’.

A UN statement on Friday said that with reference to recent events in Istanbul,

“the Secretary General reiterated that the UN’s policy on Cyprus has not changed”.

The Republic of Cyprus was a Member State of the UN and the bi-communal dialogue that takes place under UN auspices aims at reaching a settlement of the Cyprus issue was based on relevant UN Security Council resolutions, it said.

“The Secretary General expressed his full confidence in the role played by his Special Adviser, Mr. Espen Barth Eide, promoting that goal, underlining that he has the support not only of himself but also that of the Security Council, the European Union and the wider international community,” the statement said. “The Secretary-General encourages the two leaders to intensify their efforts towards reunifying Cyprus, in a climate of mutual respect, in order to bring an end to the unacceptable status quo, in the interest of all Cypriots.”