The British contingent of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) will move from the Ledra Palace hotel, in Nicosia buffer zone, to the UN protected area (UNPA) of the old Nicosia airport, by the end of 2018 or at the beginning of 2019, a spokesman for the UK High Commission in Nicosia told CNA, invited to comment statements by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix about the use of Ledra Palace hotel, during his recent visit to Cyprus.
Meanwhile, UK High Commissioner in Nicosia Matthew Kid leaves his post at the end of April and new High Commissioner Stephen Lillie will assume his duties at the beginning of May. Lillie’s appointment as the new UK High Commissioner to the island was announced by the Foreign Office in summer 2017.
As regards the Ledra Palace hotel, the UK High Commission spokesman told CNA that the British contingent of UNFICYP will leave Ledra Palace, where it is currently accommodated, by the end of this year of or at the beginning of 2019 and will move to the area of the old Nicosia airport.
He noted that the UN will no longer use Ledra Palace for the accommodation of peacekeepers, but only for events that will be hosted at the venue’s reception halls.
“This decision has been taken in the framework of the recommendations for the review of UNFICYP”, the UK High Commission spokesman said.
The Ledra Palace venue has been used to host regular meeting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties, held under the auspices of the Slovak Embassy in Cyprus, while it has also hosted dinners between the leaders of the two sides in Cyprus, that took place under the UN auspices.
Set up in 1964, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is one of the longest-running UN peacekeeping missions. The UN Security Council has recently endorsed the implementation of the UN Secretary-General’s strategic review recommendations to ensure that the Mission is optimally configured to fulfill its mandated tasks.
The Ledra Palace hotel is located in central Nicosia, within the UN controlled buffer zone, and used to be one of the most glamorous hotels of the capital. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.