The United Nations Secretary-general’s report into the current state of the Cyprus problem “could have been better”, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Saturday.

Speaking at Epiphany celebrations in Larnaca, Christodoulides said “certainly, the report could have been better, especially in its references to documenting violations in the buffer zone.”

“This is something we have talked about before, and we are seeing this traditional, time-honoured UN approach of keeping equal distances between the two sides continuing,” he added.

He went on to say that he had personally made appeals to UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres on the matter, “because it is something which worries us very much”.

Despite his disappointment at the report, he reiterated his sentiments from Friday that he “welcomes” the announcement of Colombian diplomat Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar as Guterres’ “personal envoy” in Cyprus.

“From the first day after I was elected, we worked methodically to reach this result. I therefore consider [the decision] particularly important,” he said.

He added, “what I can say is that for our part, I will do everything possible to achieve a positive result through this effort,” and said he will inform the National Council about developments and his intentions on Monday.

“I do not ignore the difficulties and problems faced, but we are here precisely to face all these difficulties and problems, because for us there is no other option than to solve the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework,” he said.

Asked to comment on Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar’s statements on the matter, he said “we will all be judged at the discussion table.”