UN PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN CYPRUS EXTENDED THROUGH MID-DECEMBER

The Security Council today extended the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus through mid-December while noting the current stalemate on the issue.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council also reaffirmed that the "status quo is unacceptable, that time is not on the side of a settlement, and that negotiations on a final political solution to the Cyprus problem have been at an impasse for too long.

"The resolution referred to a July 2006 Agreement "stressing that a comprehensive settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation and political equality, as set out in the relevant Security Council resolutions, is both desirable and possible and should not be further delayed."

In a report released earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended the extension of UNFICYP's mandate, and the Council today echoed his "firm belief that the responsibility of finding a solution lies first and foremost with the Cypriots themselves."