The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Friday, January 30, on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), following a brief postponement due to procedural developments within the Council.
The vote had originally been scheduled for Thursday, January 29, at 15:00 New York time, according to the latest update from the UN Secretariat. However, the process was delayed after one Council member broke the so-called “silence procedure” on the draft resolution.
Speaking in Nicosia on Thursday, President Nikos Christodoulides confirmed that Pakistan submitted comments on the draft resolution that were not aligned with the positions of the Greek Cypriot side.
“What I was informed of this morning is that Pakistan has broken the silence procedure under which the resolution had been placed,” the President said. “It has submitted certain comments. This is a process that has taken place in the past as well, and consultations will continue.”
When asked about the content of the comments, President Christodoulides noted that, given the identity of the country involved, “the comments are not positive for us.”
Pakistan is currently serving as one of the 10 non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, which is responsible for approving the renewal of the UNFICYP mandate.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the island’s northern third. Despite repeated rounds of UN-led negotiations over the decades, efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement have so far been unsuccessful. The most recent round of talks, held in Crans-Montana in July 2017, ended without agreement.
UNFICYP has been deployed on the island since 1964 and continues to play a central role in maintaining stability along the buffer zone and supporting diplomatic efforts under UN auspices.