UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until July 31, 2017, UN reported.

Members of the council welcomed the progress thus far in negotiations led by Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders, as well as ongoing efforts.

The 15-nation UN body encouraged the two sides to “grasp the current opportunity with determination" to secure a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, and called upon the two leaders to "put their efforts behind further work on reaching convergences on the core issues.”

The resolution also called on them to “improve the public atmosphere for the negotiations, including by focusing public messages on convergences and the way ahead, and delivering more constructive and harmonized messages.”

Meanwhile, the resolution further urged the implementation of confidence-building measures, saying that the Security Council looked forward to agreement on and implementation of further such mutually-acceptable steps, that can contribute to a conducive environment for a settlement.

UNFICYP -- one of the longest-running UN peacekeeping missions -- has been deployed on the Mediterranean island since 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities there and bring about a return to normal conditions.