TRNC President Meets with Head of UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus

TRNC President Ersin Tatar met with Colin Stewart, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus.

The meeting, which took place ahead of Colin Stewart's upcoming trip to the UN headquarters in New York, lasted about an hour. After the meeting, a joint statement was made to the press.

According to the UN Special Representative, the discussion with the Turkish Cypriot leader covered his upcoming trip to New York this weekend, where he will brief the UN Security Council on July 11. Stewart will return to Cyprus in early August. Key issues he plans to raise at the briefing were discussed during yesterday's meeting and will be included in the report that the UN Secretary-General will present to the Security Council.

Colin Stewart also expressed concern about the “militarization of the buffer zone, which both sides are advancing at alarming rates.” “While the Security Council has asked the parties to mutually address the issue of reducing tensions, we see no progress on this matter,” said the UN representative.

During the meeting, Ersin Tatar addressed the recent persecution and arrest of individual property owners in the TRNC by the Republic of Cyprus, describing the situation as “unacceptable” and “having no place in the legal field.”

According to the Northern Cyprus leader, this action by the Greek Cypriot administration is harmful. He also asked Colin Stewart to bring this matter to the attention of the UN Secretary-General, promising to provide technical and legal information about the Immovable Property Commission. In his statement, Ersin Tatar also emphasized that for a new negotiation process to begin, the sovereign equality and equal international status of Turkish Cypriots must be confirmed.

It is worth noting that on Monday, the TRNC President met in London with the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguín Cuellar.