Cyprus

UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures.

The Security Council today decided to renew the long-standing United Nations peacekeeping presence in Cyprus for another year, underscoring the need to avoid any unilateral actions that could undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement. 

Cyprus on Thursday hailed a U.S. memorandum allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming recognition of the island as a pillar of stability in the east Mediterranean region which has been fraught with conflict.

The Turkish statement came as the president of Cyprus suggested that his country could eventually become a NATO member. 

Cyprus’ president said on Wednesday (25 September) he was ready to immediately resume reunification talks over the ethnically divided island, urging regional rival Turkey to also engage in the effort.

Turkey said it condemned this week’s signing of a roadmap to boost two-way defence co-operation between the United States and the Republic of Cyprus. The move came amid United Nations efforts to find common ground for the resumption of long-stalled negotiations between the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on the Mediterranean island, which has been divided for decades.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sunday that his country was ready to build a Cyprus naval base “if necessary”, 50 years after Turkish forces invaded the now-divided island. … He also accused rival Greece of wanting to establish a naval base of its own on Cyprus, on whose future both sides remain as divided as ever.

Efforts to reunite Cyprus are approaching a decisive moment, a top UN official has said, as he urged leaders on both sides to show political courage and warned civil society groups: “It’s now or never.” In a week marking 60 years since the arrival of a UN peacekeeping force on the eastern Mediterranean island, Colin Stewart, the UN’s special representative in Cyprus, said time was running out to settle the decades-long dispute.

The Federal Cabinet has decided to participate in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) with the deployment of up to 15 police officers.

The Security Council — acting unanimously today — decided to renew for another year the long-standing United Nations peacekeeping presence in Cyprus, while stressing the need to avoid any unilateral actions that could raise tensions on the island and undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement.