Hope for a settlement in Cyprus continue to fade - UN Secretary General

Prospects for a settlement in Cyprus continue to fade with no progress achieved in finding common ground between the two sides or restarting negotiations, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in his latest report submitted to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on his Good Offices Mission and the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

In his report presented to the UN Security Council that covers the period between June 15 and December 12, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres drew a bleak picture concerning prospects of a solution on the island.

The UN chief drew attention to the absence of a common ground for the resumption of talks, underlining the importance that both sides refrain from actions that would serve to raise tensions.

Guterres in his report also gave room to the Turkish Cypriot side’s concerns and reactions to the lifting of the US arms embargo imposed on the Greek Cypriot administration as well as the draft agreement presented by Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu concerning the UN’s operations in the TRNC.

The UN Secretary General pointed out that trade volume between the two sides within the framework of the Green Line Regulation remained modest.

Guterres also said he was concerned over the lack of meaningful interaction between both sides, calling on all relevant actors to take constructive approaches in resolving their differences.

Reacting to the report on Friday, the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs said references made in the report contradict the realities on the island.

The ministry said that this approach was unacceptable and that it will continue its work to obtain the TRNC’s justified demands.

The ministry also said that the reports, despite attempting to mention all developments on the island and incidents that have taken place in the UN buffer zone over the course of the last six months, as usual failed to mention the inhumane embargoes and unjust isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people.

“It is clear, that the United Nations, which failed to report the outdated restrictions imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people who are equal owners of the island, has failed to reflect the realities on the island,” the statement read.

The report, it added, presented “inter-island trade” as a misleading solution to restrictions Turkish Cypriots are subjected to, serving Greek Cypriot policies which aim to prevent the Turkish Cypriot people from conducting direct trade with the rest of the world.

The ministry said that the terminology and wording used in the report which presented one side as a state and the other as a community was also unacceptable.

“The mention of the TRNC’s reactions to military agreements signed between the Greek Cypriot side and the US, as well as the failure of the removal of negative expressions school books on the Greek Cypriot side has been noted. However, the reference made to the ‘Cypriot government’ which has purely become a Greek Cypriot administration and has lost its legitimacy and the mention that this administration covers one third of UNFICYP’s budget is in direct contradiction of the principle of impartiality,” the statement read.

It added that this has also revealed the UN has become part of the problem.

The foreign ministry said that it has become evident once again that a settlement in Cyprus cannot be reached as long as the two sides in Cyprus are given the same international status, that the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised.

The ministry concluded its statement by stating that it is high time the Secretary-General reviews its assessment and observations which contradict the realities on the island.