UN’s Jenca heads to Turkey after ‘constructive’ visit to Cyprus

The assistant UN Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Miroslav Jenca is set to arrive in Ankara on Wednesday for meetings with Turkish contacts.

During a UN press briefing, a spokesperson told reporters that where the road between Pyla and Arsos is concerned, there are no updates on the matter.

Jenca visited the island between Sunday and Tuesday, meeting President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and visiting the buffer zone as well as the Committee on Missing Persons.

Speaking retrospectively about Jenca’s visit, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said “what we note is that the UN recognises the readiness of our side, the readiness of the president, but also the constructive attitude that has been shown by [him] since the moment he took office”.

He added that Christodoulides has “reiterated our readiness to resume negotiations from where they left off”.

“We note with satisfaction the unanimous statement of Security Council members with which, in addition to their commitment to the agreed framework of the bizonal bicommunal federation, with political equality,” he said.

“We believe that within this framework precisely, we will continue to make the efforts to resume negotiations as soon as possible.”

He concluded by saying the government “awaits developments” from the UN’s General Assembly in New York next month.