Security Council renews UN mission in Cyprus

The UN Security Council (UNSC) Wednesday renewed a UN mission in Cyprus for another six months to continue assisting the parties in the country to bring the division of the island to a comprehensive and durable settlement.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Security Council expressed "its full support for UNFICYP (the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) and decided "to extend its mandate for a further period ending 31 January 2015", Xinhua reported.

Acknowledging the progress made so far in the full-fledged negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in the country, the Security Council said, "this has not been sufficient and has not yet resulted in a comprehensive and durable settlement" .

It urged "the sides to continue their discussions to reach decisive progress on the core issues", said the resolution.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish military intervened and controlled the north of the island after a coup by a group of Greek officers. For several decades, the UN has continuously worked to persuade the two communities to find a solution to the Cyprus issue.