The Security Council on Wednesday warned against any action that would change the status quo of Varosha, a part of the Cypriot city of Famagusta which has been an uninhabited no-man’s-land since 1974.
In a press statement, the Security Council recalled the importance of the status of Varosha as set out in its previous resolutions, and reiterated its stance that “no actions should be carried out in relation to Varosha that are not in accordance with those resolutions.”
In resolution 550, issued in 1984, the Security Council considered inadmissible any efforts to populate Varosha with people other than its original inhabitants, and called for a transfer of the area to the administration of the United Nations.
The Security Council reaffirmed the status of Varosha “as set out in relevant resolutions,” in resolution 2483, which was adopted on July 25, 2019.
The statement was released after the Security Council held closed-door consultations at the request of the Republic of Cyprus, which cited recent threats by the authorities of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots to change the status of Varosha.
Speaking after the meeting, Cyprus’ UN Representative Andreas Mavroyiannis stated that the government of Cyprus was satisfied with the council’s decision.
Regarding recent explorations into the closed-off town by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials, Mavroyiannis said, “I hope the reaffirmation is a sufficiently strong message.”
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