On 18 August, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, condemned the attack on soldiers of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) earlier in the day by personnel from the Turkish Cypriot side as they attempted to block the construction of a controversial road in the buffer zone near Pyla/Pile.
This aggression was also condemned on 21 August by the members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), while the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, criticised the attitude of the UNFICYP soldiers.
“We call on the Turkish Cypriot side to fully respect the mission’s mandated authority inside the UN buffer zone”, said Mr Borrell in a statement. UNSC members explained that “attacks on peacekeepers (could) constitute crimes under international law”.
The High Representative of the Union pointed out that the unilateral measures concerning construction work not authorised by the Turkish Cypriot side within the buffer zone constituted “a violation of the status quo that leads to escalation”. The members of the UNSC expressed “serious concern” about this work being started.
“The EU calls for calm and stability in the area, as well as for the resumption of important work on a mutually agreeable way forward in the Pyla/Pile area”, added Mr Borrell.
In his view, for the Cyprus question to be comprehensively settled, “it remains essential to avoid unilateral actions, including actions that violate the military status quo along the ceasefire lines or encroachment into the buffer zone”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)