UN’s Lacroix to visit Pyla and Famagusta

Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, responsible for peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will visit the green line in Pyla and also occupied Famagusta on Thursday.

On Wednesday Lacroix met with the President Nikos Christodoulides following which he spoke about the “significant” agreement on the Arsos-Pyla road, reached after intensive consultations with both sides.

Consultations will continue, Lacroix said, and the United Nations will do its utmost to implement the agreement.

The UN official’s statements came amid reactions from the Turkish Cypriot side against authorised works in the buffer zone.

In a statement after his one-hour meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, Lacroix said they discussed the Arsos-Pyla road issue on which an agreement was reached between the two communities last month.

He noted that the agreement was secured after a very intense process between the two sides, with Colin Stewart playing a crucial role in bringing the two sides together for an ultimately good agreement.

“The United Nations will do everything possible to ensure that the agreement can be implemented, this is a process where engagement with both sides will continue because that is how we move forward,” he said.

But Tatar complained to the UN official that the Greek Cypriot side started works in the buffer zone in some areas used by Turkish Cypriots which, he said need to “be stopped immediately”, echoing earlier statements by ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu.

Elsewhere, Lacroix stated that the UN welcomes Cyprus’ readiness to help the Gaza crisis by providing aid through means of a humanitarian sea corridor.

Asked if information about the Turkish ‘no’ to an envoy is valid, the UN official limited himself to saying that the UN secretary-general continues to be in consultation with the two sides.