In his message to mark 60 years of the Mission on the island, Siddiq says that the UK has been, over the years, the biggest contributing country. He spoke of the role of peacekeeping force as a guarantor of safety and stability along the buffer zone.

”Until the day that we together with our Cypriot friends from the south and north of the divide will be able to celebrate the island’s reunification, you can rest assured that the UK will remain committed to supporting the reported work”, he noted.

He added that on this occasion the UK pays tribute to all the peacekeepers, including the 62 British peacekeepers who paid the ultimate sacrifice, along with all the contributing countries for the mission over the sixty years.

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.