The UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres has recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of UNFICYP, the UN Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus, for another six months until July 31, 2022.

In his latest draft report, Guterres notes that the absence of progress toward the resumption of formal negotiations continued to create space for new facts on the ground and spawned unilateral actions deemed provocative by the other side.

The UN Secretary-General also expresses concern that the progressive lifting of restrictions both domestically and at the crossing points did not translate into a significant increase in meaningful interaction between the two communities, who remained “largely estranged from each other and focused almost solely on internal issues of their respective side.”

Guterres warns that “with the passage of time and the risk that the communities drift ever-further apart, supporting people-to-people trust-building and fostering cooperation more broadly on issues that affect the daily life of Cypriots is fundamental.”

“Despite the current challenges, I encourage the leaders and their representatives to maintain dialogue and to engage with each other, including through the continuation of the weekly trilateral discussions with my Special Representative/Deputy Special Adviser, as one of the platforms to achieve progress on confidence-building measures and to resolve outstanding problems on the ground that tend to raise tensions,” he stresses.

Guterres also encouraged the leaders and their representatives to maintain dialogue and to engage with each other and expressed concern over the lack of interaction between the two communities and urges the leaders to encourage more direct contact and cooperation between them.

“An unsettled, internal political landscape created additional challenges, with Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots seeming increasingly sceptical as to the prospects of common ground being found and a future resumption of peace talks occurring,” he added.

Guterres also drew attention to the challenges Turkish Cypriots faced in accessing or obtaining Covid-19 vaccines and EU Digital Covid Certificates.

He pointed out that the transfer of these vaccines to the Turkish Cypriot community had been limited and insufficient with more needed to be done to speed up the process.

The UN Secretary-General also said it was critical that the leaders and their representatives provide the technical committees with the political support that they require to sustain a constructive dialogue and deliver tangible results.