Turkey slams UN report on Cyprus, urges change in approach

ANKARA

Turkey has slammed a report by the U.N. Security Council on the extension of a peace force in Cyprus, saying the appointment of a new special advisor does not mean “any restart of the negotiation process,” which ended in 2017.

“We believe that any process in the coming period can only be successful if it is based on the current realities on the island and the experience gained from the negotiations conducted during the past half century, and if it aims for suitable expectations and outcomes,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement on July 26.

Turkey’s statement followed the adoption of a U.N. Security Council resolution on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a period of six months.

It slammed the resolution for retaining the wordings cited by the two previous resolutions on the future conduct of the Cyprus settlement process.

“Turkey sees no meaning in these wordings contained in the most recent resolution of July 26 on the extension of UNFICYP’s mandate, which prejudge the result of the contacts by the secretary-general’s consultant and the possible future shape of the settlement process. These wordings also do not contribute to the settlement of the Cyprus issue,” it stressed.

Recalling that the latest attempt to resolve the decades-old problem in Cyprus has remained futile due to the Greek Cypriots in July 2017, the statement cited there were no conditions set for the restart of any negotiation process.

“With this understanding, when consenting to the appointment made by the secretary-general for the purpose of holding exploratory contacts with the two sides on the island and the three guarantors on their reflection periods, Turkey put on record its view that this temporary appointment would not imply any restart of the negotiation process which ended in 2017. This view was confirmed by the U.N. side,” it said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres had appointed American diplomat, Jane Holl Lute, as his temporary special consultant on Cyprus. She met with leaders of both sides early this week, but Turkey believes her efforts are not regarded as any attempt for the restart of settlement process.