Εfforts by the five permanent members of the Security Council to agree on a draft resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) continue in earnest, after a failed attempt on Friday.

Consultations will continue Monday morning at ambassadorial level, with a view to agreeing on the draft the same afternoon and no later than Tuesday morning.

The insistence of the British delegation to have a reference to a multilateral conference without an agreement on the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem continues to cause problems in the process. According to the British the multilateral conference should be convened shortly after a scheduled meeting between Cyprus President Demetris Chirstofias, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and UN Secretary in late January, a move interpreted by certain circles as an indirect timetable for the Cyprus peace talks.

The British representative appears isolated from the other members of the Security Council, something which emerged at yesterday’s briefing of the SC by the Special Representative of the Secretary General in Cyprus, Lisa Buttenheim.

During the briefing, the UN official was very careful and restricted herself to mainly the technical parts of the report of the Secretary-General. In the political part of the briefing, she talked about some progress in the talks and in several important aspects of the Cyprus problem where there is not yet convergence. She admitted that almost all progress took place between July and October.

On his part, the British representative insisted that the talks cannot be open ended, and that at January’s meeting in Greentree it should be made clear whether there are prospects for a solution. He said he expects there will be a positive result and that a multilateral conference will be convened shortly.

The American representatives highlighted the need for the two communities in Cyprus to reach a compromise and referred to technical issues of the Peacekeeping Force, pointing out the need for complete the demining of the buffer zone.

The Russian representative suggested that there should not be so much rush by some to conclude the peace process, and linked the international conference to the existence of convergences on all internal aspects of the Cyprus problem and on an agreement by the two sides.

He added that the issue of an emergency contingency plan for UNFICYP is only necessary if there is a settlement of the Cyprus issue. He also said that the UN SG’s report on Cyprus’ exploration for hydrocarbons was incomplete, as it did not include Turkish threats against the Republic of Cyprus.

The Indian representative also supported Cyprus’ right for hydrocarbon exploration.

Ankara, whose troops occupy Cyprus’ northern part since they invaded in 1974, does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus. It has sent warships in the southeastern Mediterranean, where exploratory drilling is taking place, and has warned that it would not talk to Cyprus when it assumes the six monthly rotating EU presidency.

UNFICYP, comprising some 859 military personnel from about seven troop contributing countries in addition to about 68 personnel at the end of October last year, arrived in Cyprus in March 1964 after inter-communal fighting broke out. The mandate of the force is renewed every six months by the Security Council.

UNFICYP’s mandate is to contribute to the restoration of normal conditions and entails the facilitation of an increasingly wide range of civilian activities.

President Christofias and Eroglu are engaged in peace talks to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country under a federal roof.