Akinci wants UN troop revision

In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has called for a reassessment of the UN peacekeeping force’s (UNFICYP) mandate on the island.

His letter was sent in response to Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades’s request that UNFICYP’s mandate be renewed for six more months until January 31, 2019.

Akinci said that even though UNFICYP has helped preserve stability on the island, it must take into consideration the current situation, with the opening in recent years of crossing points between the two sides.

Akinci said there is no legal basis for the cooperation between UNFICYP and the Turkish-Cypriot authorities.

Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said on Saturday that he expects UNFICYP to continue its mission as long as there are Turkish occupation troops on the island.