United Nations Security Council members have expressed hopes for a strengthening of the Cyprus ceasefire after voting on Thursday night (1 August) to give the U.N. peace force on the island an expanded role under the Geneva Agreement.

The Council -- by 12 votes to none with two abstentions -- authorised the force to move into a buffer zone between the Turkish army and the Cyprus National Guard.

U.N. soldiers will also patrol villages wit mixed Greek and Turkish ethnic populations, as laid down in Tuesday's (30 July) agreement between Greece, Turkey and Britain in Geneva.

Thursday's Council meeting was brisk and businesslike, in constrast to the debate on Wednesday when the Soviet Union vetoed a similar resolution.

This time, the resolution was adopted minutes after the start of the session. The Soviet delegate abstained together with his Byelorussian colleague.

Mr. Jacob Malik, who cast Wednesday's Soviet veto, took over as Council President on Thursday with the start of a new month.

He criticised the Geneva agreement, saying it was hatched at a closed conference which excluded Cyprus and was virtually an all-NATO affair.

He said the fighting on the island had still not stopped and the withdrawal of foreign forces ordered by the Security Council nearly two weeks ago had not been enforced.

Mr. Malik had earlier explained that his veto of Wednesday's resolution was prompted by the haste of the Western powers in forcing it to a vote before he had instructions from Moscow.

Even before the Council session ended, Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim sent orders to the U.N. Commander in Cyprus, Major General D. Prem Chand, to begin carrying out the force's new duties.

He explained to the Council that agreement had also been reached for U.N. troops to remain in the part of the island under Turkish control, despite previous Turkish army demands for their removal.

The U.N Force in Cyprus at present numbers just under 3,500, with another 1,000 reinforcements due by 12 August.