CYPRUS: UN warns that opening up Varosha to non-entitled is ‘inadmissible’

The United Nations has not been officially told of Turkey’s plans to open up the fenced-off resort of Varosha but warned allowing anyone to settle there other than its legal inhabitants is prohibited.

---

UN Secretary General Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the matter is being closely monitored and any action would be guided by Security Council resolutions on Varosha.

"We’re monitoring the situation closing and continuously. The UN is and will continue to be guided by relevant Security Council resolutions. The UN has not received any formal information on plans to open Varosha," Dujarric said.

He reminded that UN resolution 550: "Considers attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible.”

"Any UN involvement in planning implementation of potential measures related to Varosha will be guided by the relevant Security Council resolutions".

Dujarric said the UN has not received any formal information from the government of Turkey on this matter.

Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the private CNN-Turk broadcaster: "Yes, there are preparations. Varosha will be opened."

Varosha is the closed-off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, often described as a ‘ghost town as it remains untouched and empty for decades.

UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) also calls for the transfer of this area – once known as the "pearl" of Cyprus – to UN administration.

Varosha was fenced off by the Turkish military in 1974 after its Greek Cypriot inhabitants fled the town during the invasion.