UN chief focused on Cyprus

Senior UN official Miroslav Jenča said everything is being done to break the six-year deadlock and help the sides resume Cyprus negotiations.

He met President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on Monday to discuss the next steps in reviving the peace process.

The Assistant UN Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Africa said afterwards: “The most important thing is that the UN Secretary-General is paying utmost attention to the situation on the island.”

He added: “We discussed ways to resume talks.

“This is something that is of importance to see the big picture, and definitely, the SG will use all his good offices in order to help this process to find a solution to the Cyprus issue.”

Jenča will cross the Green Line to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar later on Monday.

President Christodoulides described Jenca’s presence as “significant”.

“It is also an indication of the importance that the Secretary-General himself attaches. Of course, what matters most is getting results”.

Jenča will be in Cyprus until Tuesday for separate meetings with Cypriot leaders focusing on the way forward and recent developments on the ground.

He will also meet with UN peacekeepers who were in the Pyla buffer zone during violent clashes on August 18.

The Security Council condemned the incidents in the buffer zone, in the village where UN peacekeepers were punched and kicked by Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of British and Slovak peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled buffer zone.

The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road connecting the Turkish-occupied Arsos village with Pyla inside the buffer zone.