United Nations undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Tuesday said that “regular interaction” with the Turkish Cypriot side is “very important and helpful” for the UN.

Speaking after a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, he said that contact between the Turkish Cypriot side and the UN aids its peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) to fulfil its “very critical” mandate.

“The role of Unficyp is to make sure that we preserve calm in the buffer zone, we prevent incidents from happening, and when they happen, we work with the sides to de-escalate,” he said.

He added that de-escalation is “critical”, as “preserving calm means that the political process, the talks which are ongoing between the sides … can continue”, while adding that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has offered “very strong support and commitment” for efforts geared towards political progress on the Cyprus problem.

“I very much value this opportunity to discuss, to share views, to make sure that this very profitable interaction with the Turkish Cypriot side will continue,” he said.

Erhurman’s office, meanwhile, said of the meeting that “recent developments and current issues were discussed”.