Turkey which already occupies Cyprus’ northern part is now trying to establish a new fait accomplis via Thursday’s move to construct a road through the buffer zone between the villages of Pyla and Arsos.
This is what Philenews reports, adding that the new provocation came despite strong diplomatic steps within the EU and elsewhere by the divided island’s President Nikos Christodoulides who took over in March.
The latest move by Ankara aims to, firstly, seize territory that is in the UN-controlled buffer zone and, secondly, to gain a significant military advantage, added the report.
At the same time, the U.N. mission in Cyprus has already said it will block the construction by the breakaway Turkish Cypriot regime of the road that would encroach on the buffer zone and likely raise tensions.
The road would violate UNFICYP’s mandate of maintaining the status quo inside the buffer zone, a written statement also said.
Work began early on Thursday on the road to connect the village of Arsos in the breakaway north with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla.
The road would give Turkish Cypriots direct access to Pyla by circumventing a checkpoint on the fringes of Dhekelia British military base, one of UK’s two bases in the former colony.
Nicosia perceives the road construction as a move with a military purpose at a sensitive spot along the buffer zone spanning 180 kilometers.
Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said that Nicosia is working with the U.N. peacekeepers to thwart the road construction.
“This is an attempt for a very serious violation of the status quo,” he underlined, adding that the government was working to prevent this Turkish plan in cooperation with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the EU, the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), as well as the Greek government.
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ΕRΤ) said on Thursday that the Foreign Minister of France Catherine Colonna brought up this issue of violation within the buffer zone during a telephone conversation she had with her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, at her request.
Cyprus – an EU member state – is still divided since a 1974 invasion by Turkey in full violation of international law and order.
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UNFICYP warns against unauthorised construction near Pyla buffer zone
