UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been very clear in his position on Cyprus, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said, adding that Guterres is working with the parties to try to find a settlement.

In response to questions on the announcement by the Secretary of State of the US regarding the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, Dujarric said that the UN position remains unchanged and expressed regret about the decision and the announcement of the United States.

Asked whether the Secretary-General also expresses the same regret for Russia’s actions in Crimea or Turkey’s settlements in the northern part of Cyprus, where it stations troops occupying the land there, Dujarric said the issues should be dealt with separately.

“On the issue of Crimea and Ukraine our position is based on the territorial integrity of the Ukraine as expressed in relevant General Assembly resolutions and would refer to you what the Secretary-General has said at the time” he said.

On Cyprus, he went on “the Secretary-General has been very clear in his position. There was a report on his good offices just recently and he is also working with the parties to try to find a settlement.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.