The UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has not received any official notification from the Turkish Cypriots as regards their request for a “status of forces agreement” with them, although it is aware of the request they have made at the UN Headquarters, the force’s spokesperson, Aleem Siddique has told CNA.
He was invited to comment on a report by Turkish daily “Hurriyet” according to which, the “foreign minister” of the Turkish Cypriot puppet regime, Tahsin Ertugruloglu told the newspaper that if UNFICYP does not forge an agreement with the pseudostate then the force will have to leave its campuses in the Turkish-occupied areas of the island, and that the puppet regime has given a one-month notice to UNFICYP as regards this issue.
“We are aware of the request made by the Turkish Cypriot side at the UN Headquarters recently although we have yet to receive any official notification from them,” Siddique told CNA.
Invited to comment on the substance of the Turkish Cypriots’ request, he noted that “we haven’t received an official notification from them so we can’t address the substance of what they are saying.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Comprising military and civilian personnel from various contributing countries, UNFICYP arrived in Cyprus in March 1964 after intercommunal fighting broke out. The mandate of the force is renewed every six months by the UN Security Council.
