Latest news with #UN-controlled
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Cyprus leaders to continue discussions on confidence building, says UN
An abandoned outpost is seen near the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia, Cyprus July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou (Reuters) -Leaders of ethnically split Cyprus have agreed to continue discussions towards confidence building, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, in a dispute which has kept NATO partners Greece and Turkey at odds for decades. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will press ahead with attempts to open new crossing points between the two sides and cooperating on solar energy initiatives, Guterres said after hosting the Cypriot leaders at U.N. headquarters in New York. "It is critical to implement all these initiatives as soon as possible, for the benefit of all Cypriots," Guterres said. The two sides had agreed in an encounter with Guterres earlier this year to open four additional crossing points, demine, establish a youth affairs committee, and launch environmental and solar energy projects. There are presently nine crossing points along a 180-km-long (116-mile-long) ceasefire line splitting the two sides. Guterres said there was a "question of itinerary" in relation to one of the new checkpoints opening but that there had been important progress on the issue. Cyprus was split more than 50 years ago in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Reunification talks collapsed in mid-2017 and have been in a stalemate since. The Cyprus conflict is a key source of disagreement between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, fiercely defensive of their respective kin on the island. (Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Cyprus leaders to continue discussions on confidence building, says UN
An abandoned outpost is seen near the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia, Cyprus July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou Leaders of ethnically split Cyprus have agreed to continue discussions towards confidence building, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, in a dispute which has kept NATO partners Greece and Turkey at odds for decades. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities will press ahead with attempts to open new crossing points between the two sides and cooperating on solar energy initiatives, Guterres said after hosting the Cypriot leaders at U.N. headquarters in New York. "It is critical to implement all these initiatives as soon as possible, for the benefit of all Cypriots," Guterres said. The two sides had agreed in an encounter with Guterres earlier this year to open four additional crossing points, demine, establish a youth affairs committee, and launch environmental and solar energy projects. There are presently nine crossing points along a 180-km-long (116-mile-long) ceasefire line splitting the two sides. Guterres said there was a "question of itinerary" in relation to one of the new checkpoints opening but that there had been important progress on the issue. Cyprus was split more than 50 years ago in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Reunification talks collapsed in mid-2017 and have been in a stalemate since. The Cyprus conflict is a key source of disagreement between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, fiercely defensive of their respective kin on the island. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Driverless bus in Sentosa gets green light to run without safety officer in first for S'pore World US strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites, says new report Business 5 things to know about Kuok Hui Kwong, tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter and Shangri-La Asia head honcho Asia Air India probe into Boeing 787 fuel control switches finds no issues Singapore Man charged over manufacturing DIY Kpods at Yishun home; first such case in Singapore Singapore Sex first, then you can sell my flat: Women property agents fend off indecent proposals and harassment Singapore Two women jailed for submitting fake university certificates to MOM for employment passes Singapore Fatal abuse of Myanmar maid in Bishan: Traffic Police officer sentenced to 10 years' jail
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Rival leaders of divided Cyprus seek progress on future
The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus are meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday to discuss the future of the island and build upon talks in March, which marked the first step toward renewed dialogue after years of deadlock. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the latest meeting "will provide an opportunity to continue the dialogue and exchange views on the progress made since March. At that last meeting in Geneva, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar agreed to trust-building measures on issues like energy, environment, youth affairs and demining, as well as opening four new crossing points along a UN-controlled buffer zone that divides the Mediterranean island. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek-backed coup triggered a Turkish military intervention. This led to a split between the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot-controlled Republic of Cyprus and the self-declared entity in the north. Only Turkey recognises the island's breakaway state of North Cyprus, and it maintains more than 35,000 troops in the territory. While the Republic of Cyprus is part of the European Union, EU law does not apply in the breakaway northern entity, which remains under Turkish military presence. Negotiations between the rivals have been stalled since 2017. As with the meeting in March in Geneva, guarantors from Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom will be at the two-day meeting in New York at the request of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Ahead of the latest talks, the Republic of Cyprus' deputy government spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou — who serves under Christodoulides — told Euronews that the Greek side's main aim was to agree on specific outcomes for the trust-building measures. "The aim is to go to the next step, which is to create the conditions for direct negotiations," Antoniou said in an exclusive interview. "For us, this is the most important thing. That is to go to the negotiating table in search of a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem," he added. Concern over crossing points The primary obstacle to peace is Turkey's and Northern Cyprus' insistence on a two-state solution. This goes against Cyprus' desire for a federation — a model endorsed by the UN Security Council — that foresees Greek-speaking and Turkish-speaking zones. Greek Cypriots say they won't agree to any accord that formally partitions the island, allows for a permanent Turkish troop presence, gives Turkey rights to militarily intervene or offers the minority Turkish Cypriots a veto right on all government decisions. The rivals have made some progress since March on the trust-building measures, which also include work on a photovoltaic park inside the buffer zone and restoration work on cemeteries on both sides of the divide. However, the opening of four new crossing points has proved to be a sticking point. Antoniou told Euronews that the Turkish Cypriot side had deployed a "delaying policy". "They claim that they cannot decide for themselves and that it is a matter for the Turkish army. We cannot accept this argument," he said. "We can't agree to the opening of just one roadblock, because there must be an element of reciprocity, that is to say, we must accept the opening of crossing points, but these must serve the inhabitants on both sides of Cyprus, in the occupied and free areas." On the issue of the photovoltaic park within the buffer zone, Antoniou said his government objected to the Turkish Cypriot side's stance on the matter. "The other side essentially wants this photovoltaic park to operate in the conditions of two separate sovereign states, which we will certainly not accept," he said. 'Lack of trust' In the light of geopolitical challenges and conflicts ranging from the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Sryia to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has increasingly positioned itself as a point of stability and powerbroker in the Middle East. For the Greek Cypriots, this is a concern, according to Antoniou. "We see the Turkish side, after the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, approaching things with more political and diplomatic arrogance," he told Euronews. "What concerns us at the moment is that it seems that Tatar is following a delaying policy because he may be serving his own agenda due to the upcoming 'elections'," he added. Tatar faces reelection in October and says he is running on the same two-state platform — with the backing of Ankara — that first got him elected in 2020. Antoniou said he believed the mediators in New York intended to maintain dialogue during this meeting in the expectation that after the elections in Northern Cyprus "there may be a political environment that allows us to move forward". "We are not expecting anything drastic in New York, or any substantial change due to the attitude of the Turkish side", he added. In a recent interview with Politis, a daily Greek-language newspaper published in Cyprus, the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy on Cyprus María Angela Holguín said she was worried about "the growing gap between the two communities at a societal level". Antoniou said that there was a lot of work to be done by both sides on this issue, although he stressed that the two very different situations should not be equated. "For our part, as far as possible, we are trying to work creatively around these issues with respect for the rights of Turkish Cypriots and respect for religious freedoms in the free areas for all the inhabitants of the island," he said. "Turkish Cypriots are free to come to the free areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and pray, visit their mosques and so on, while on the other side the same is not exactly the case. Consequently, they are two completely different worlds a lot of times, which exacerbates this feeling of lack of trust, unfortunately," Antoniou added.
New Straits Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Syrian foreign minister raises new flag at UN headquarters
UNITED NATIONS, United States: Syria's foreign minister on Friday raised his country's new flag at UN headquarters in New York, hailing the move as a "proclamation of a new existence" after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Asaad al-Shaibani raised the three-starred flag, officially adopted after Assad's December ouster, and later spoke to the Security Council, where he urged a lifting of international sanctions and for Israel to be pressured to leave Syrian territory. "This flag is not a mere symbol, but rather a proclamation of a new existence," he said in his first United Nations speech. Since Assad's fall to Islamist-led forces, Israel has deployed troops in a UN-controlled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974. "We would like to ask the Council to make pressure on Israel to withdraw from Syria," al-Shaibani said in his first UN speech. Israel has also launched airstrikes in Syria, which al-Shaibani slammed Friday as "not only a flagrant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, but also a direct threat to regional stability." "We have repeatedly announced our commitment that Syria will not constitute any threat to any of the neighbouring countries or any country around the world, including to Israel," he said. He also called for the lifting of all sanctions imposed under the previous government. Economic sanctions have hit the country hard, with more than 90 per cent of Syrians living below the poverty line, according to the UN. Al-Shaibani was backed by the UN's special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, who warned that Israel's "violations of Syria's territorial integrity are undermining the transition." He said Israel's "highly confrontational" approach was "not warranted" given the space for diplomacy. Pedersen also called for sanctions to be eased. Some European and other Western states have eased certain sanctions on Syria, while others including the United States have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power, opting instead for targeted and temporary exemptions. Shaibani's visit to the UN comes after Syria's central bank governor and finance minister this week attended spring meetings at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, for the first time in more than 20 years. Pedersen said the country's transition from the Assad years was at a "truly critical juncture." Much has been achieved, but "the situation is extremely fragile," he warned, calling for more political inclusion and economic action. Pedersen, who was in Damascus two weeks ago, stressed the "urgent challenge" facing the Alawite community. In early March the minority – associated with Assad – were targeted by massacres, particularly on the coast, which killed more than 1,700 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
