UNFICYP`s role in preventing flaring up violence was pointed out by Herve Ladsous, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations.
Speaking during a press conference and asked whether there is a plan in case of a political settlement in Cyprus or whether the UN have made any other plans in case a solution is not reached, French UN official referred to the Greentree meeting and its outcome.
“As you know the latest Greentree meeting arrange, did not engineer or bring about the important developments that somewhat we were hoping for“, he underlined.
He added that “UNFICYP clearly is one of these peacekeeping operations where a job is done, a job is being done in terms of preventing flaring up violence or incidents and this takes place on a daily basis“.
“So this is a matter of keeping violence at the lowest possible level while political processes are underway but it`s a long term effort“, he stressed.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.
The latest round of UN-led negotiations has been underway since 2008 between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus with an aim to reunify the island under a federal roof.
A new meeting with the UN Secretary General took place late January at Greentree Estate in New York between the UN chief and the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, namely Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.
UNFICYP, comprising over 800 military personnel from about seven troop contributing countries, arrived in Cyprus in March 1964 after inter-communal fighting broke out.
The mandate of the force is renewed every six months by the Security Council.
UNFICYP’s mandate is to contribute to the restoration of normal conditions and entails the facilitation of an increasingly wide range of civilian activities.