The Turkish Cypriot administration has opposed a proposal by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades for the deployment of 2,500 EU police officers to operate in divided Cyprus, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
The proposal says that the European Union police force will operate instead of the Treaty of Guarantee system. It is part of the recently accelerated peace negotiations between the two sides.
Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı and Anastasiades seek a peaceful solution to a conflict that is ongoing for 42 years. Britain, along with Turkey and Greece, is one of the guarantor states of Cyprus under the 1960 treaty. Peace talks between the two sides resumed in May 2015, after Akıncı’s election in April.
According to Cypriot media, the proposal calls for lifting the Treaty of Guarantee system and EU police to be deployed on the island for five years. Their tenure can be extended on the request of either side.
According to the Anastasiades proposal, first a friendship and cooperation deal will be signed between Turkey, Greece and the to-be-formed new federal Cyprus state. On the first day of the deal, 75 percent of the Turkish troops will leave the island, and the remaining 25 percent will stay until an unspecified departure date, until which they will operate in just one barracks, the Hurriyet Daily News report says.
When Turkish troops withdraw from the island and a peace deal is in effect, a police force of 2,500 EU officers will be deployed to the border between the Turkish-occupied northern part and the rest of Cyprus.
The EU police force will be under the auspices of the United Nations and their tenure of five years can be extended upon the demand of the two sides. Turkey, Greece and Britain will only play a counseling and mediator role in case of any conflict, the report concludes.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
