Foreign ministry largely pleased with Guterres reports

The foreign ministry on Sunday said it was largely pleased with the latest annual reports on Cyprus submitted by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Guterres had at the beginning of July submitted reports on the state of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (Unficyp) and the UN’s Good Offices on the island, and the foreign ministry stated it had found itself largely in agreement.

“In this regard, [Guterres’] finding that despite the importance of the technical committees and the positive impact of confidence-building measures, only the achievement of substantial progress towards the resumption of negotiations … can provide reassurance for Cypriots and the international community,” they said.

They also said it is “important to mention that [Guterres] continues to be guided by the Security Council’s resolutions, which define the UN’s parameters, for a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution.”

However, on the subject of violations of the buffer zone, they expressed disappointment at what they described as “the constant approach of keeping equal distances and assigning equal responsibility to both sides.

They said that this in “several cases” leads to “the non-objective recording of the situation on the ground”, and “definitely fails to give an accurate image of the ongoing Turkish occupation and violation since 1974 of the Republic of Cyprus’ territorial integrity.”

“Similarly, references to humanitarian issues, such as the living conditions of the enclaved and the issue of missing persons, remain unfortunately sluggish, largely downplaying the real situation and the responsibility of Turkey as an occupying power,” they said.

They added that the government is “committed to the big picture” and is “making every possible effort … to create prospects for a return to negotiations”.

The foreign ministry’s statement comes off the back of Unficyp chief Colin Stewart’s behind-closed-doors briefing of the UN Security Council on Thursday, and the submission of a report by outgoing UN envoy in Cyprus Maria Angela Holguin.

Holguin’s report centred on her six-month tenure in the role and her quest to find common ground between the island’s two sides, and she then met Guterres on Thursday to discuss her findings.

Having taken receipt of the report, Guterres will now decide his and the UN’s next steps with regard to Cyprus.