What is provided for the buffer zone in Cyprus is clearly stated in the UN resolutions and decisions, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has said.

The President was speaking after concluding his separate meetings at the Presidential Palace with European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn and Vice-President of the European Commission, European Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas.

Asked by journalists about reports of a UN proposal regarding the cultivation of part of the land in the buffer zone, in Deneia, President Christodoulides said that the matter is being handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and when there is something concrete to inform about, the government will do so.

What is provided for the buffer zone, he pointed out, is clear both in the UN resolutions and in the UN repeated decisions.

“It is clear in the resolutions of the United Nations and the repeated decisions what is provided for the buffer zone, why the UN is in Cyprus, why the peacekeeping force is there, who gives the consent, all these issues are governed by UN decisions. And it is precisely within this framework that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is handling the issue,” he noted.

Asked if the Government gives any guidance to the Greek Cypriot farmers in the area, the President of the Republic said that the government is in contact with them, stressing that the issue of security is of primary importance to the government.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

The buffer zone – also called ‘the Green Line’ – extends approximately 180 km across the island. In some parts of old Nicosia it is only a few meters wide, while in other areas it is a few kilometres wide. Its northern and southern limits are the lines where the belligerents stood following the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, as recorded by UNFICYP.