During the past year, my mission of good offices proceeded within the overall framework set out by the Security Council in resolution 939 (1994): to continue to work for progress on both the substance of the Cyprus problem and the implementation of the package of confidence-building measures that had been the focus of efforts during the previous period.
After my Special Representative, Mr. Joe Clark, visited the region in September 1994 for meetings with the Cypriot parties and the Governments of Greece and Turkey, he reported to me that matters were close to an impasse. The Greek Cypriot leader continued to insist on progress on an overall solution, while the Turkish Cypriot leader placed priority on the early implementation of the confidence-building measures. In response, I wrote to each of the community leaders on 10 October 1994, informing them that I had requested my Deputy Special Representative to invite them to join him for a number of informal consultations. These consultations were to explore, in a concrete manner, ways in which the implementation of the confidence-building measures and the long-contemplated overall settlement of the Cyprus problem might be advanced.
Both leaders accepted this invitation, meeting five times between 18 and 31 October 1994. They discussed the essential elements of a federation in Cyprus as well as the implementation of the confidence-building measures, exploring a broad range of ideas pertaining to political equality, sovereignty, membership in the European Union, aspects of the federal constitutional arrangements, security and demilitarization, displaced persons, property claims and territorial adjustments, as well as modalities for the early establishment of the federation and implementation of the confidence-building measures. The ideas broached under these headings offered ways of satisfying in an equitable manner what have consistently been the most deeply held concerns and interests of each community.
In November and December 1994, I met separately with each of the Cypriot leaders to hear their views on the informal meetings. I told them that given the necessary political will, the elements discussed during their meetings offered the possibility of a significant step forward both on the substance of the Cyprus question and on the confidence-building measures. I also strongly encouraged the Turkish Cypriot leader to respond in a commensurate manner to the ideas that had been broached. I instructed my Representatives to pursue their contacts with the parties in order to establish the basis for a further discussion of these issues. To this end, Mr. Clark travelled to the region in March and May 1995.
The continuing support of the members of the Security Council for the efforts of my mission of good offices has been particularly encouraging. But I regret that, in spite of the presence on the negotiating table of almost all elements required for a just and lasting settlement, the negotiating process again appears to be blocked.
The United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has continued to carry out effectively its mandate despite the reduction of its strength by nearly half over the past couple of years. The two sides have generally exercised restraint in the past year. However, the continuing quiet should not obscure the fact that there is merely a cease-fire -- not peace -- on the island. I continue to be concerned by the excessive level of foreign troops and of armament in Cyprus, and the rate at which these are being strengthened. The two sides have not yet agreed, in accordance with the proposed package of confidence-building measures, to extend without delay the 1989 unmanning agreement to all parts of the buffer zone where their forces remain in close proximity to each other. The Security Council's repeated call for a significant reduction in the number of foreign troops and in defence spending should be heeded by all concerned. I again urge both sides to take reciprocal measures to lower the tension, including mutual commitments, through UNFICYP, not to deploy along the cease-fire lines live ammunition or weapons other than those that are hand-held and to prohibit firing of weapons within sight or hearing of the buffer zone.
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