Cyprus Talks: Guarantees not needed in a reunited Cyprus - Nicos Anastasiades

Greek Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said that the near future will be decisive as efforts to reach a settlement on the Cyprus issues enters its final stage, adding that there is no need for foreign guarantors with a right of intervention in a reunited federal Cyprus. 

Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday, Anastasiades said that foreign guarantees and rights of intervention in Cyprus are “anachronistic” and contrary to the basic principles of a state’s sovereignty and legal status.

“We believe that similar anachronistic arrangements can only cause problems, and they are not the answer to any concerns the parties may have, whether such concerns are warranted or not,” he said.

“Guarantees contradict the basic principles of sovereignty and legal status that a state comes under, and these also give the right to one constituent state to call on a third country to intervene and violate the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the independent federal state,” he added.

“For example, (imagine) if the Russian Federation was asked to guarantee the security of Estonia or Latvia. Or, another example, if one of federal Germany’s states was guaranteed by a third country. I think I have given enough examples, no need to elaborate further,” he added.

This he said in reference to Turkey's stance that it will continue to maintain its role as a guarantor in a reunited Cyprus.

According to Anastasiades, the major source of difficulty facing the negotiations today was the Treaty of Establishment which “ gave the guarantors the impression that they had the right to intervene in the internal affairs of a federal Cyprus.

Source: CyprusMail