President Christodoulides' upcoming UN address in focus

The National Council, Cyprus' top advisory body, convenes on Friday morning under President, Nikos Christodoulides, to be briefed on the latest developments in the Cyprus problem, in view of the President's trip to New York, during the second half of this month, where he will address on September 20th the UN General Assembly and will hold a series of meetings.

During the meeting, scheduled to start at 1115, President Christodoulides is expected to brief the National Council members both on the recent events in the buffer zone in Pyla area and the government's actions to prevent the creation of new faits accomplis by the Turkish occupation regime, as well as the talks that he had on Monday in Nicosia with UN Assistant Secretary - General, Miroslav Jenča, and generally the efforts being made for the resumption of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem.

Members of the Security Council condemned on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, the incidents in the buffer zone, in the village of Pyla, in Larnaca district, with assaults against UN peacekeepers, reiterating their full support for UNFICYP.

They also condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers and the damage to UN vehicles by Turkish Cypriot personnel and wished a speedy and full recovery to the peacekeepers who were injured. They emphasized that "attacks against peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law and reaffirmed their full commitment to the safety of all UN personnel."

On Friday August 18, 2023 men of the occupation regime punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a U.N. controlled buffer zone.

The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.