TRNC News Today 20th August 2014

Secretary General Ban will appoint Eide to replace Downer

According to the information obtained from the UN, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has decided to appoint former Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide as his new special representative on Cyprus, replacing Alexander Downer who left earlier this year to take up duties as Australian High Commissioner in London.

It is expected that the appointment of Eide will be declared in the coming days and it is indicated that the UN hopes that his appointment will create a new dynamic in the Cyprus problem.

In the meantime, Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Özersay declared that the Turkish side has approved the new UN representative whose name has been conveyed to both sides by the UN Secretary General. Özersay said that leakage of such an important issue to the Greek Cypriot press before declaration of the Greek side’s reply is imprudent. Özersay said: “If the Greek Cypriot side approves the new name, this name should be submitted to the UN Security Council by the UN Secretary General himself and should be declared by the UN Secretary General as well. We have observed negative results of the leakage in Greek Cypriot press regarding the appointment of the new Special Advisor. We accept with sorrow the imprudence regarding the new step of the UN Secretary General. It is a sine qua non that sides should respect approvals of each other and the United Nations too.”

Moreover, according to Greek Cypriot news sources, the Greek Cypriot government agrees with the appointment of former Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide as the Special Advisor on Cyprus.