The Security Council,

Reaffirming all its earlier resolutions on Cyprus,

Reiterating its grave concern at the lack of progress towards an overall political settlement on Cyprus,

1. Expresses appreciation for the letter to the President of the Council from the Secretary-General on his Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus, in particular on the work of his Deputy Special Representative, of 14 December 1998 (S/1998/1166);

2. Endorses the initiative of the Secretary-General announced on 30 September 1998 within the framework of his Mission of Good Offices, with the goal of reducing tensions and promoting progress towards a just and lasting settlement in Cyprus;

3. Expresses appreciation for the spirit of cooperation and constructive approach the two sides have demonstrated thus far in working with the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General;

4. Requests the Secretary-General, in view of the objectives of promoting progress towards a just and lasting settlement and of reducing tension set out by the Secretary-General in his initiative of 30 September 1998, and building on the serious engagement already demonstrated by the two sides, to continue to make progress towards these two objectives, on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions;

5. Requests further the Secretary-General, in particular, to work intensively with the two sides on the following, taking into account resolution 1178 (1998) of 29 June 1998:

(a) An undertaking to refrain from the threat or use of force or violence as a means to resolve the Cyprus problem;

(b) A staged process aimed at limiting and then substantially reducing the level of all troops and armaments on Cyprus;

(c) Implementation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) package of measures aimed at reducing tensions along the ceasefire lines, and a commitment to enter into discussions with UNFICYP with a view to early agreement on further specific and related tension-reducing steps, including demining along the buffer zone;

(d) Further progress in the area of tension-reduction;

(e) Efforts to achieve substantive progress on the core aspects of a comprehensive Cyprus settlement;

(f) Other measures that will build trust and cooperation between the two sides;

6. Calls upon the two sides to show compliance with all the objectives in paragraphs 4 and 5 above in full cooperation with the Secretary-General;

7. Also requests the Secretary-General to keep the Security Council informed of progress made on his initiative;

8. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.