Cyprus asks UN missions to refrain from meetings with Turkish Cypriot representatives

New York, United States. The Republic of Cyprus asked diplomatic missions attending the United Nations General Assembly to refrain from meeting Turkish Cypriot representatives, according to a letter seen by the Cyprus Mail. The request came during a week of meetings that produced little progress on the Cyprus problem.

Letter to UN missions

The letter, sent to the permanent representatives of UN member states and bearing the seal of the Republic of Cyprus’ permanent representative, said the government had information that representatives of what it called the “secessionist entity” were in New York seeking meetings to promote their policies. It said they were exploiting the presence of high-level officials.

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The permanent mission asked permanent and observer missions to refrain from contact or meetings with those representatives, citing relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The letter also criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech to the General Assembly, saying he had shown “total disregard” for relevant Security Council resolutions and principles of international law. It said the resolutions could not be applied selectively and that the passage of time did not weaken the obligation to implement them.

Contacts between the two sides

Greek Cypriot diplomatic sources told the Cyprus Mail on Friday night that Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman had not consented to a tripartite meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The newspaper said it had contacted Erhurman’s office and was awaiting a response.

The letter follows another reported disagreement over diplomatic contacts. Last month, diplomatic sources at missions in Nicosia told the Cyprus Mail that the foreign ministry had called them and told them not to attend a briefing by Erhurman’s undersecretary, Mehmet Dana.