The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in the Island of Cyprus (UNFICYP) for another year with its Resolution 2771 (2025), adopted on 31 January 2025.

We support the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) concerning this resolution.

Contrary to the established UN practices, the consent of the Turkish Cypriot side was, yet again, not obtained for the extension of UNFICYP’s mandate.

We remind that the Force is able to carry out its activities in the territory of the TRNC solely on the basis of the goodwill of the TRNC authorities. We also emphasize the urgent need to establish a legal basis for the continuation of these activities. We underline that we will fully support the steps to be taken by the TRNC side within this framework.

We are, furthermore, deeply disappointed by the UN Security Council’s insistence on referring, in the resolution on the extension of UNFICYP’s mandate, to outdated settlement models that are no longer on the agenda in the context of a possible settlement.

We once again emphasize that a just, lasting and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue can only be achieved based on the realities on the ground. We call on the UN Security Council to acknowledge this reality and to reaffirm the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, namely their sovereign equality and equal international status.