Türkiye slams renewed mandate of UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus for another year, without consent from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

''In view of the prevailing conditions on the island it is necessary to keep the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) beyond 31 January 2023,'' to 31 January 2024, Monday's resolution read.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement slamming the move, saying “the Council, detached from the realities on the ground and disregarding the will of the TRNC towards a two-state settlement, insists on settlement models that have been tried and have failed many times."

"This situation is incompatible with common sense and goodwill, and shows that, instead of promoting a real settlement on the Island, the Council is unable to free itself from Greek Cypriot influence."

The UNSC cited a lack of an agreement that furthers political tensions and deepens the estrangement of both communities, risking irreversible changes on the ground, and reducing the prospects of a settlement, to justify the move.

Türkiye, on the other hand, said the UN was contradicting itself in calling for cooperation while "disregarding the realistic, constructive and sincere cooperation proposals conveyed by TRNC President Mr Ersin Tatar".

"Once again, the UN Security Council has ignored the inhumane and illegal embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people," added the ministry statement.

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Decades-long dispute

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.

As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

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