S/PV.6132 Security Council

The result of the voting is as follows: 14 votes in favour and one vote against. The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution 1873 (2009). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

Having voted against the draft resolution today, I would like to briefly share with the Council the reasons that compelled us to do so. First of all, I wish to recall and underline that the partnership State established by the 1959 London and Zurich Treaties in the shape of the Republic of Cyprus and the Government of Cyprus collapsed in 1963, when the Greek Cypriots forcefully expelled the Turkish Cypriots from all State institutions, including the Government. Since that day, there has not been a joint and constitutional government representing the whole of Cyprus, either legally or functionally, and the two peoples have been living separately under their own administrations. As Council members know, resolution 186 (1964) setting up the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) following the Greek Cypriot armed offensive against the Turkish Cypriots and the subsequent Council resolutions extending the mandate of the Force could not be accepted by the Turkish Cypriot side or, as one of the guarantors of Cyprus, by Turkey. The main reason for that has been the references made in all of these resolutions to the Government of Cyprus, which, in reality, has been representing only the Greek Cypriots since 1963. As a direct consequence of this, consent of the Turkish Cypriot side has never been formally sought, whereas UNFICYP should have functioned with the open consent of both parties on the island. Actually, this wrong approach — to consider the Government of Cyprus as the sole Government of the whole island — has unfortunately been the main obstacle on the way to finding a just, lasting and comprehensive solution for over 45 years. Turkey has never objected to the intent behind the establishment of UNFICYP, which was to protect the Turkish Cypriots. Our objection has always been to the way these resolutions are adopted and the language they contained. Yet, thanks to the spirit of goodwill and cooperation displayed by the Turkish Cypriot side, UNFICYP has been functioning in the northern part of the island, in accordance with the modalities set by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It is for these reasons of principle that Turkey felt the need to vote against the resolution. As to the text itself, we have already shared with the members of the Council our detailed views and objections regarding several aspects of the resolution, so I will not repeat them. I have also conveyed them in writing to the presidency of the Council in our previous consultations. We look forward to the day when the Cyprus issue is solved along well-established United Nations parameters on the basis of a new partnership within the framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation in line with the political equality of the two parties. The Turkish Cypriots, by voting “yes” in the referendum in 2004, have proven that they want a just and lasting comprehensive settlement. Once again, they are prepared not to spare any effort to achieve a durable and equitable solution. We very much hope that the Greek Cypriots will respond positively to the call of the Turkish Cypriots.

There are no further speakers on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.