UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan suggested on Friday a further six-month extension in the mandate of the UN mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

    In his latest report to the Security Council, Annan noted that over the past six months, there has been no evolution.

    "While there were signals of some willingness to begin to re-engage, there have been no tangible indicators of an evolution in the respective positions," he said.

    The Secretary-General observed that only the achievement of a comprehensive settlement will bring an end to the Cyprus problem, saying that "in the absence of such a comprehensive settlement, the presence of UNFICYP on the island continues to be necessary."

    He thus proposed that the Council extend the mandate of UNFICYP, which was established in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, for six months through Dec. 15. Enditem