UN: Assisting Turkish Cypriots’ secession is contrary to SC

Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Michele Montas, reiterated the UNSG’s regret that the ongoing debate on lifting the Turkish Cypriots’ ”isolation” has become a debate on recognition, noting that recognition, or assisting secession, would be contrary to Security Council resolutions.

Speaking during her daily briefing, Montas said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Cyprus, Michael Mοller, briefed Council members on the Secretary-General’s latest report on Cyprus, which said that, over the last six months, there has been no progress on implementing the Agreement of 8 July 2006, noting that ”in that context, all parties need to show greater flexibility and political courage.”

”The Secretary-General adds that it is regrettable that the ongoing debate on lifting the Turkish Cypriots’ isolation has become a debate on recognition. Recognition, or assisting secession, would be contrary to Security Council resolutions, he says. He also says that, given the lack of a comprehensive settlement, the UN Mission’s mandate should be extended by a further 6 months,” Montas said.

On July 8 2006, Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in the presence of the then UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari signed an agreement, involving bicommunal discussions by technical committees of issues affecting the day-to-day life of the people and, concurrently, consideration by expert working groups of substantive issues of the Cyprus problem.