UN Secretary General`s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, who briefed on Monday the Security Council, came to “more balanced” conclusions as regards the causes of the deadlock in the UN-led Cyprus talks, staying at the same time on the same wavelength with the UN Secretary General`s recent report on the UN operation in Cyprus, according to a diplomatic source.
Security Council members who are friendly towards Cyprus gave him indirectly the message that the UN Secretary General`s report was not impartial. Speaking before the members of the Council Eide supported the resumption of the negotiations the soonest, despite the fact that he is not particularly optimistic that talks could resume before April.
In the meantime, due to bad weather conditions, yesterday`s deliberations at the Security Council for the resolution on the peace-keeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) were postponed. For the same reason UN headquarters will remain closed today and the scheduled for Wednesday meeting of the Security Council for the adoption of the resolution is expected to be re-scheduled.
Moreover, Eide`s meetings with the permanent representatives of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey at the UN, scheduled for today, took place yesterday.
Cyprus President Anastasiades suspended his participation in the UN-led peace talks following a Navigational Telex or NAVTEX, issued by Turkey in October last year, as Turkish seismic research vessel “Barbaros” violated the Republic’s exclusive economic zone.
Repeated calls for the withdrawal of “Barbaros” went unheeded by Ankara, which announced recently the NAVTEX`s extension until April 6, 2015.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
