October 2011 Monthly Forecast

EUROPE

Cyprus

Expected Council Action
In November, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, is expected to brief Council members in informal consultations on the ongoing UN-facilitated reunification talks between the Greek Cypriot president Demetris Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Derviş Eroğlu.

The Secretary-General has invited the two leaders to a tripartite meeting in New York. If they accept his invitation, this meeting is likely to take place before Downer’s briefing.

The Secretary-General’s next report on the UN operation in Cyprus (whose mandate expires on 15 December) is due on 1 December.

Key Recent Developments
When the Council last renewed the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in resolution 1930 of 15 June, it welcomed progress made in the negotiations, urged the parties to “intensify the momentum of negotiations” and looked forward to decisive progress “consistent with the hope expressed by the two sides on 21 December 2009 that, if possible, 2010 would be the year of solution.”

Following the election last April of Derviş Eroğlu as the new Turkish Cypriot leader, the Cyprus reunification talks resumed at the end of May. The property issue, which aims at resolving numerous complex claims between the two sides on property seized decades ago and is considered one of the most difficult of the seven items addressed in the talks, has remained the focus of the resumed talks. (The other issues are governance and power sharing; EU matters; the economy; division of territory; security arrangements and guarantees; and citizenship, immigration and asylum issues.)

The Secretary-General on 21 October noted that progress had been slow recently. He said he had been in contact with the two leaders, urging them to “achieve concrete advances” and maintain the momentum.

On 14 October the Limnitis/Yesilirmak crossing point between the two sides of the island was opened. (It is the seventh such crossing point.) An agreement to open it was reached in June 2009 and was seen as an important confidence-building measure but had been difficult to implement.

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UN Documents

Selected Security Council Resolutions

  • S/RES/1930 (15 June 2010) renewed UNFICYP’s mandate until 15 December, welcomed progress in the negotiations, strongly urged the parties to increase the momentum in the negotiations and requested a report from the Secretary-General by 1 December 2010.
  • S/RES/186 (4 March 1964) established UNFICYP.

Latest Reports from the Secretary-General

  • S/2010/264 (28 May 2010) was the latest report on UNFICYP.
  • S/2010/238 (11 May 2010) was the latest report on the good offices mission in Cyprus.

Other

  • S/2010/540 (13 October 2010) was a letter from Turkey to the Secretary-General transmitting letters from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus refuting Cyprus’s allegations of violations of international air traffic regulations and national airspace of Cyprus.
  • S/2010/502 (30 September 2010) and S/2010/363 (6 July 2010) were letters from Cyprus to the Secretary-General drawing attention to alleged violations of the international air traffic regulations and national airspace of Cyprus by Turkish military aircraft.
  • S/PV.6339 (15 June 2010) was the meeting record of the Council’s adoption of resolution 1930 with Turkey’s explanation of vote.

Full forecast

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