"I'm concerned about the fact that we were not able to get the talks back on track," Eide said Tuesday, adding that "there were some openings over New Year, but…now we're back in an impasse".
The deadlock emerged after Turkey extended its Navigation Telex (NAVTEX), which allows Turkish seismographic vessels to explore areas in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), located in the island's southern waters.
Eide recalled that he had previously stated that a few weeks or a few months of impasse "will not hurt the process in the long run", but stressed that that is no longer the case an "negative developments" could start to emerge, as a result of the deadlock in the next few months.
"I think it important to use this opportunity to call on the Security Council to work with both sides and to try to ensure that we're able to get back to the table," the UN adviser stressed.
Northern Cyprus, officially known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is a self-proclaimed state in the Eastern Mediterranean, occupying the northern regions of the island of Cyprus. Cyprus was de facto divided between the Greek and Turkish communities in 1974, when Turkey invaded the island after a coup staged by the supporters of a Greek military junta.
The republic proclaimed its independence in 1983 and is currently only recognized by Turkey.
