Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, on Friday said that the Government was handling a case concerning 13 irregular migrants who are in the buffer zone, the same way a similar case was handled in the past. Asked by journalists, on the sidelines of an event in Pissouri, in the Limassol district, about the existence of 13 irregular migrants in the buffer zone - the UN-controlled land separating the northern Turkish occupied areas from the southern government-controlled part of the country - President Christodoulides confirmed that that was the case, noting that 'we are in contact with the United Nations peacekeeping force to cover any humanitarian needs that may arise'. 'This is an issue that we encountered in the past and we handled it', the President said, noting that, they were handling it in the same way in this particular case as well. He said that the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus have been in constant contact with UNFICYP for days, noting that the migrants did not arrive all together, but gradually, reaching this number today. Asked why they were still in the buffer zone, and if this was the tactic followed in such cases, or was it because they did not ask for political asylum, President Christodoulides said that the management of the migration issue, either it concerned arrivals by sea, or through the occupied territories from Turkey, needed 'a multilevel approach', and that the Republic of Cyprus would do 'what is necessary so that this specific issue is addressed'. When asked if he believes that there was support from the EU as regards the migration issue, President Christodoulides said 'of course'. 'There is support, we have help from the EU', he said, noting that 'a serious reduction' in the arrivals of irregular immigrants was recorded due to the actions of the Government and that returns have increased a lot. 'We have a specific plan, that yields results', President Christodoulides said, and expressed 'absolute certainty that we will face this great challenge'. Beyond that, he added, any help provided by the EU that could reinforce these efforts, was 'welcome'. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively. In January, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue. Source: Cyprus News Agency
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