UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Extended

UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Extended Through Mid-December

New York, Jun 15 2007 3:00PM

The Security Council today extended the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) through mid-December while noting the current stalemate on the issue.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council also reaffirmed that the “status quo is unacceptable, that time is not on the side of a settlement, and that negotiations on a final political solution to the Cyprus problem have been at an impasse for too long.”

The resolution referred to a July 2006 Agreement “stressing that a comprehensive settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation and political equality, as set out in the relevant Security Council resolutions, is both desirable and possible and should not be further delayed.”

In a report released earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended the extension of UNFICYP’s mandate, and the Council today echoed his “firm belief that the responsibility of finding a solution lies first and foremost with the Cypriots themselves.”

ENDS

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