UN Secretary-General urges stronger ties between Greek, Turkish Cypriots

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday (June 9th) urged Turkish and Greek Cypriots to establish social, economic, cultural, sports and other ties, stressing such steps could play a crucial role in efforts to reunify the divided island. “Such contacts would nurture a sentiment of trust between the communities and help to ease the sense of isolation felt by the Turkish Cypriots,” Ban said in his latest report on the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP). He thinks that boosting such ties would make reunification “not only easier, but also more likely”. Ban also recommended that the UN Security Council extend UNFICYP’s mandate by six months, though December 15th.