Crisis, what crisis?

The United Nations are responsible for the buffer zone and they are determined to ensure all agreements surrounding the opening of Ledra Street are maintained. The Cyprus Mail reports that this was confirmed in two meetings held by President Christofias yesterday, after his rushed return to Cyprus from the UK because of the incidents at Ledra street on Thursday night when the checkpoint was closed down for 90 minutes after Turkish Cypriot policemen were seen patrolling the UN-controlled buffer zone area. Part of the agreement to open Ledra was that the specific area could only be patrolled by UN soldiers.Christofias first met with the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, followed by a meeting with the UN Secretary-general’s special representative in Cyprus, Elisabeth Spehar.

Government spokesman Stephanos Stephanou denied that the President’s return meant that there was a crisis at hand. “There is no crisis, as some people maintain. The President merely wants to keep a close eye on things,” he said. He added that Christofias’ decision to cut his London visit short “was the responsible choice to make”, and said that there was no issue of snubbing the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown since no private meeting had been arranged between the two leaders. He stressed the need for a strict implementation of agreements regarding the opening of Ledra Street so no further problems arise. Stephanou added that Christofias had repeated the government’s will for the Ledra Street checkpoint to remain open, “the opening of which has justifiably caused joy to both Greek and Turkish Cypriots”. He also said that the Turkish Cypriot side had given assurances that certain conditions would be set to ensure that the agreements were respected.

During the incident, President Christofias was on a plane to London to attend a round table discussion on progressive government held by Britain’s Labour Party. However, upon being informed of the situation, he promptly returned to Cyprus and lined up meetings with ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council and with UN representative Elizabeth Spehar to discuss the issue. His decision to return fuelled speculation over whether the President was happy with the way the incident at Ledra Street was handled and over the seriousness of the incident itself.According to the Cyprus Mail, the order for the closing of the street came from acting President Marios Karoyian who had first consulted Christofias, according to Minister of Justice, Kypros Chrysostomides. The Mail reports that Karoyian did not wish to make any statements on the issue.

Meanwhile the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister, Turgay Avci, was emphatic that the area in which the Turkish Cypriot police had moved into was part of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. “Our borders are not under debate,” he said. “If the Greek Cypriots have a problem, then we can discuss it.”