Christodoulides hopes to avoid repeat of Denia buffer zone incident
President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday said the government is undertaking the “necessary processes” so as to avoid a repeat of Saturday’s brief confrontation between Turkish military forces and Greek Cypriot farmers in the buffer zone near the Nicosia district village of Denia.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in nearby Kokkinotrimithia, he said he has spoken with the village’s mukhtar Christakis Panayiotou, and that “from the very first moment, all the necessary processes are being carried out in a specific direction, so that such phenomena do not repeat themselves”.
He added that Saturday’s incident was “certainly not a positive development”, given that “we are attempting to create the appropriate climate so that talks can resume” with the aim of solving the Cyprus problem.
Earlier on Sunday, his Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas had expressed his disappointment that the United Nations had maintained “equal distances” in its stance towards the island’s two sides over the incident.
“We cannot play with fire. The Republic of Cyprus cannot tolerate such approaches and views,” he said, before adding that the foreign ministry has already “taken steps”.
He then added that he believes that the UN “will take a position instead of keeping equal distances around issues concerning such dangerous situations”.
“The only way to ensure that such provocative and dangerous situations [created] by the occupying forces will not arise in the future is for the United Nations to enforce the principles and values of the UN charter,” he said.
UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) spokesman Aleem Siddique had told the Cyprus Mail on Saturday that Turkish forces had “approached” farmers near Denia on Saturday morning, and that UN peacekeepers “attended the scene to diffuse tensions”.
He added that all parties had thereafter left the area, and that “the situation remains calm, and we are continuing to monitor the area closely”.
“Preventing tensions remains our most important priority,” he said.
The buffer zone near Denia has historically been a point of contention between the island’s two sides, with Panayiotou reporting “threats” made by Turkish soldiers and other disagreements having taken place in the buffer zone near his village over the years.
Last year, he said he believed Turkish forces were “constructing an anti-tank trench estimated to be four to five metres wide and three to four metres deep”.
On that occasion, Siddique later told the Cyprus Mail that Unficyp was “in contact with the mukhtar to reassure him that the status of the buffer zone remains unchanged”.
“Peacekeepers are in the area to deal with any challenges which may arise,” he said.