Cultural heritage preservation efforts continue to progress as maintenance and conservation works commenced at the Church of Agios Demetrianos, located in Larnakas tis Lapithou in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus.
In a statement to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Sotos Ktoris, Co-Chair of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, confirmed that the project is co-funded by the European Union and the local community. The restoration framework will be executed under the strict technical supervision of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The scheduled infrastructure works at the Agios Demetrianos site are projected to span a duration of nine months, he added.
Furthermore, Ktoris highlighted that the current operational contract also encompasses the conservation of the Church of Agios Charalambos, situated in the village of Agridaki within the Kyrenia district.
Ktoris noted that extensive restoration and maintenance works are simultaneously progressing at more than 70 cemeteries throughout Cyprus.
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.