Stewart categorically denies alleged statements on 'Yeni Duzen'

The head of the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, has categorically rejected the references attributed to him following representations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the same time, he reaffirmed his and the UN Mission in Cyprus' commitment to the impartial and objective exercise of their mandate.

In particular, according to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director General of the Ministry, Kornelios Korneliou, sent a letter to Colin Stewart, in response to allegations made by the Turkish Cypriot newspaper "Yeni Duzen" and references attributed to Stewart.

Stewart, the press release noted, "categorically rejected the references attributed to him, noting that they do not correspond to reality."

It is further stated that the UN official reaffirmed to Korneliou his and the UN Mission in Cyprus' commitment to the impartial and objective exercise of their mandate terms.

Yeni Duzen’s, Cenk Mutluyakali, said that during a meeting in New York with Scandinavian country representatives of the UN and non-permanent members of the Security Council, Stewart had claimed that "the northern part of Cyprus has now been integrated economically and politically with Turkey. The Greek Cypriot side is the one that needs to act to change the situation. However, all they do is complain, condemn and accuse.”

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.