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Roundup: Cyprus settlement negotiations hit snag over key security chapter

Xinhua, July 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cypriot negotiators seeking a settlement to the long-standing Cyprus problem have come upon disagreements, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades stated on Friday.

Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci met for almost four hours, discussing the root issues of territorial adjustments, security and the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the part of Cyprus they occupied in 1974 which was in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece at the time.

"We got into deep waters and we have a long way to go," Anastasiades said after returning to his office from a United Nations-protected area where the negotiators meet.

He said that he and Akinci agreed recess for the summer and would have eight more meetings late in August and early in September in a bid to find out whether they could conclude an agreement by the end of the year.

"We exchanged productive views in a friendly climate on how to deal with the two most serious chapters -- territorial adjustment and guarantees," Anastasiades said.

Greek Cypriots seek to repeal a 1960 system of guarantees under which Turkey, Greece and Britain became guarantor powers.

They also want 43,000 Turkish troops to fully withdraw from the occupied territory of Cyprus but they are ready to compromise by accepting a gradual withdrawal.

Turkish Cypriots, who make about 20 percent of the total population of about one million, say they would feel safe with the presence of Turkish troops and some kind of guarantees.

Anastasiades said that the two sides are determined to find a way out.

"We have a long way to go but also the will to face the problems that are a source of concern to each side," he said, "What I want to say is that the differing positions could, hopefully, be the beginning of a constructive conclusion."

He also said that the two sides agreed to avoid revealing details of their discussions, given the sensitivity of the issues involved.

Political analysts have said that the recent failed military coup in Turkey has been a source of concern in both communities of Cyprus as it underlined the fragility of the existing situation. Endit