On 23 January 2017, Ms. Elizabeth Spehar, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), joined H.E. Mr. Olof Skoog, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the UN and President of the Security Council for the month of January 2017, and Mr. Espen Barth Eide, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, to make informal comments to the media at UNHQ in New York on the latest developments in Cyprus.

In her remarks, Ms. Spehar, among other things, expressed her thanks to the Council for their support for a renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate. She noted that some of the areas the Council had highlighted positively included confidence-building measures, the work of the Committee on Missing Persons as well as encouraging the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325, on women peace and security in the negotiations and beyond.

In his remarks, Mr. Skoog said the Security Council welcomed the progress made in the Cyprus negotiations towards a settlement in recent months, as well as the convening of the Conference on Cyprus in Geneva earlier this month. The Security Council further commended the steadfast and courageous leadership shown by both Cypriot leaders and the UN, reiterating the very strong support to SASG Eide and SRSG Spehar in their active role in facilitating discussions.

Members of the Council also reaffirmed their strong commitment to supporting the two sides in reaching a settlement deal, including through the rollover of the UNFICYP mandate. The Council urged all parties to maintain momentum and seize the opportunity they now have to secure an historic agreement for a unified Cyprus.