GENEVA: Hopes for a peace deal in
Cyprus stalled on Friday
over a decades-old dispute, with the rival sides at loggerheads
over the future of
Turkish troops on the divided island.
A week of UN-brokered
talks in Geneva between Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and
Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci sparked optimism that an agreement to reunify the island could be at hand.
But any settlement will require an agreement on Cyprus’s future security, with key players Greece, Turkey and former colonial power Britain needing to sign on.
The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974, when
Turkish troops invaded in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.
And a key sticking point remains the presence of some 30,000
Turkish troops in the **rth of the island.
Ankara and Akinci have insisted that some
Turkish military presence is essential for
Turkish Cypriots to feel safe in a prospective united country.
Anastasiades on Friday restated his position that a timeline must be agreed for those
troops to eventually withdraw.
And Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said there can be ** solution to the four-decade division of
Cyprus while
Turkish “occupation”
troops remain.
“A just solution (to division) means, first of all, eliminating what caused it, namely the occupation and presence of occupation forces,” Kotzias said, according to a ministry statement as he left Geneva.
But
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that a full withdrawal of
Turkish troops from **rthern
Cyprus was “out of the question”.
He said in televised remarks that Athens and Greek Cypriots still have “different expectations” from their
Turkish and
Turkish Cypriot counterparts on resolving the
Cyprus problem.
UN envoy Espen Barth Eide cautioned that discussions on security had just begun and that the subject was “emotional” for all sides.
He insisted that efforts to end one of the world’s longest running political crises would **t be derailed
over a temporary war of words.
Despite the roadblocks ahead, Anastasiades said the two sides were “on a path that creates hope” and that compromise was key.
“A solution can**t create winners and leave losers (in its wake). If we want it to be viable and durable, all must understand, Greek and
Turkish Cypriots alike, that a fine balance must be struck,” he told reporters in Geneva.
Earlier in the week, the rival sides tackled thorny domestic questions like the composition of a unified government and land swaps.
In a**ther first, they exchanged maps late Wednesday detailing their visions of how internal boundaries should be redrawn.
Turkish Cypriot leaders have agreed in principle to return some of the land they have controlled since the failed 1974 coup.
The Greek Cypriot government said that the maps met the terms agreed during previous negotiations that foresees the
Turkish Cypriot zone amounting to a maximum of 29.2 percent of the island, although disputes remain and a final version has **t been agreed.
New UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who hosted the conference in Geneva on his first foreign trip at the helm of the world body, said a final deal was “close” but warned against expecting a “quick fix”.
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