The Cyprus government has submitted a new revised proposal to the UN to facilitate the opening of a crossing point in the capital, leading to the northern Turkish occupied areas, and of another crossing point on the north-west of the country.
The proposal was handed by Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon during their September meeting in New York, Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas announced here Monday.
Palmas said the proposal provides for an agreement between the Turkish military and the National Guard (the Republic’s armed forces) that the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) will exercise to the full the mandate it has received from the Security Council in the buffer zone, as this area is marked out in UNFICYP maps.
According to the revised proposal, the crossing point at Ledra street in Nicosia will open without any side laying down any terms or preconditions on UNFICYP.
Furthermore, pending an agreement to determine precisely the ceasefire line of the Turkish occupation forces and the National Guard, which will define the limits of the buffer zone in the area, the two military sides will agree that UNFICYP will fully exercise its mandate from the Security Council in that area of the buffer zone as this is marked out in UNFICYP maps.
The crossing point will open as soon as the practical arrangements meet all necessary safety precautions, as set out by UNFICYP, after consultations with the interested parties.
In addition to the above, the proposal also provides for a crossing point in the Pyrgos-Limnitis area to open as soon as possible and in any case by the end of 2007.
Palmas explained that the new element in the proposal is that, despite differences regarding the exact limits of the ceasefire lines, the Greek Cypriot side will accept the UNFICYP map in order to open the Ledra street crossing point, until an agreement is reached between the UN and the two military sides.
He added that the government was ready to open the Pyrgos-Limnitis crossing point as soon as infrastructure work in the area is completed.
The Spokesman recalled that following a UN brokered agreement in July last year with the Turkish Cypriot side, President Papadopoulos conveyed to the UN a set of proposals, providing for the demining of the buffer zone and Cyprus in general, the demanning of sensitive areas and the withdrawal of military forces from such areas.
”Our proposals remain on the table and we are ready to discuss them,” Palmas said, adding that ”it is important at this moment to implement the July 8 agreement without further delay.”
President Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed on 8 July 2006, during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of UN official Ibrahim Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.
