Cyprus urges UN peacekeepers to stay

NICOSIA, Cyprus

Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said on Wednesday (May 27th) that UN forces in the country, known as UNFICYP, are still necessary despite the ongoing reunification talks between leaders of the two communities on the divided island.

The forces, deployed in 1964, consist of over 900 UN staff based in the buffer zone between the Turkish and Greek parts. Kyprianou said the government of Cyprus believes that any attempt to reduce the forces or to modify their mandate would be a step in the wrong direction.