Cyprus is not at peace Spehar tells conference

We are facing “extremely difficult times in the Cyprus peace process” with the positions of both sides having moved further apart in recent months, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of Unficyp Elizabeth Spehar told a conference on Tuesday.

Addressing the Economist Conference in Nicosia, Spehar said although there is relative peace on the island with the absence of war, Cyprus is not at peace, since the conflict persists.

She added that the UN sees longer-term stability, and a sustainable and secure future in Cyprus as well as the region, as intimately linked to resolving the Cyprus issue.

In her speech, she noted that as the conference, overall, is focusing on sustainability, stability, and security, these are all fundamental concepts that relate to peace. But “there are many challenges on the way to both achieving and sustaining such peace,” she said.

She went on to explain that “these are extremely difficult times in the Cyprus peace process. Efforts continue, and the Secretary-General has stressed that he will not give up, but there have been no substantive negotiations since July 2017”. The UNSG, she added, “is concerned about the future of the peace process with new facts on the ground being created as we speak”.

Spehar said that over the past six months, the Secretary-General hosted an informal five-plus-one meeting in Geneva among the parties to the Cyprus issue, as well as an informal lunch with the two leaders in September. “While these rare meetings provided opportunities for dialogue, the discussions that took place have not led to a breakthrough that would allow a return to substantive talks,” she added.

In fact, Spehar said, “the positions of both sides have moved further apart in recent months”, adding negative narratives and unhelpful rhetoric are spreading, and political polarisation on the island is sharpening — between and within both sides of the divide.

Regionally, tensions have started to flare up again, she said adding that “it is no secret that the Cyprus issue is enmeshed in a broader geopolitical context where the roles of the neighbours, and particularly Turkey and Greece, two guarantor powers, are key”. Spehar reminded that the Secretary-General has called on all parties to avoid actions that could increase tensions and derail the efforts to continue the dialogue in search of common ground to resume talks.

“It is more than ever evident that the status quo is not static and that the situation on the island and in the region is in flux”, she remarked.

This leads to the question as to whether, in Cyprus itself, there is peace Spehar said, adding that in “the past many months without substantive talks have been accompanied by a deepening mistrust between the parties”.

Stressing that this leads to whether security can prevail and economic prosperity flourish on a perpetually divided island, Spehar added that “we all must keep hope alive, not simply with words but, more importantly, with actions. The UN has worked on supporting countries around the world to achieve peace, and will continue to do so in Cyprus, and is committed to not only attaining but also sustaining peace”.