Permanent Five agree on draft presidential statement on Cyprus

The five permanent members of the Security Council have reached a decision on the draft of the presidential statement which is expected to be read after its members are briefed by UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser for Cyprus Alexander Downer.

Unanimity is required to adopt the statement and the Mexican President of the Council, has set a deadline until 1600 Thursday for any objections to be submitted.

According to reports, Turkey although is ready to accept the contents of the statement, is seeking however some points to be included in Downer’s speech to the Security Council.

A diplomatic source told CNA the draft is clearly an improved version of the first one and in general lines, it is considered satisfactory on the part of the Cyprus government.

The Security Council is expected to congratulate the two leaders for their efforts and to urge them to seize the momentum to continue being fully engaged in the talks and their progress, which it does not associate with deadlines, with the aim to reach an overall settlement of the problem.

A UN sources has said Downer’s contacts continue with members of the Secretariat to better prepare the next steps.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe, have promised Downer they will further strengthen the negotiating support unit.

Informing the SC members during a special session last week, Pascoe presented a “Report on Enhancing Effectiveness of UN Mediation” in which he said that in Cyprus, the UN has “deployed facilitators to the technical working groups during the preparatory phase of the talks”.

These people, he added, “continue to work closely with the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Alexander Downer, including technical support on power-sharing and property issues”.

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been engaged in direct negotiations since September last year, with a view to solve the question of Cyprus divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.