Cyprus peace talks ‘collective failure’: UN Envoy

UNITED NATIONS

Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, told all sides on July 19 to quit the blame game as to the crash of the talks to unify the island.

 “Not the time to engage in a blame game. There is more than enough of that going around,” Eide told members of the Security Council.        

“We have to admit that there was a collective failure at stitching together a deal in Crans-Montana”, he added.  

Recalling the U.N. efforts in Siwtzerland, including those by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Eide said that only once all issues on the table are settled, could it be said that a deal concerning the island has been reached.

In his remarks, Eide also highlighted that the U.N. would always remain available and at the disposal of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to facilitate the process and noted that the talks are led by the leaders and owned by them.

Referring to the Secretary-General’s report concerning Cyprus, Eide said: “We hope [the leaders] will not jump to conclusions [and that] they reflect seriously on what can be done now, after the Conference on Cyprus failed.”

“Given a number of developments in and around the island, it is crucial that the reflection is done in the spirit of understand and comprise, rather than by exasperating the differences,” Eide stated.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım will visit Turkish on July 20 to attend ceremonies marking the 43rd anniversary of Turkey’s military intervention on the island, Prime Ministry sources told Anadolu Agency.

Yıldırım will meet top Turkish Cypriot officials, the sources said.