UN pulls the plug on new checkpoint crossing

The UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has issued a statement withdrawing its support for the opening of a new crossing across the divide in Cyprus. at Nicosia’s Ledra Street, saying that unilateral initiatives are incompatible with the spirit of the confidence building measures.

In a press release, UNFICYP states that it is “unable to support or facilitate the opening of the proposed crossing at Ledra Street in the absence of the consent of both parties”. However, it repeated its assertion that the construction is not inside the buffer zone (as claimed by the Greek Cypriot leadership).

“The mission`s view is that while the construction undertaken by the Turkish side is outside the buffer zone, being to the north of the ceasefire line, it should cease,” the statement said.

However, it has acknowledged that workers have been entering the buffer zone.

It adds that it has “protested the fact that, even as the Security Council met yesterday in New York to discuss the Secretary General’s report on the renewal of the mission’s mandate, Turkish Cypriot workers seeking to clear rubble from an area adjacent to the construction site crossed into the buffer zone.”

“Both sides should resume efforts to find mutually acceptable arrangements for the opening of Ledra Street crossing,” said the statement.