MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Nicosia is ready to resume the Cyprus settlement talks in case the negotiations are carried out under the aegis of the United Nations, the permanent secretary of the Cyprian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik, adding that Turkey should relinquish its intervention rights on Cyprus.
"In fact, we are not pulling any preconditions. The only thing we say is that those negotiations should take place within the framework, which was established by the [UN] secretary-general and should focus, as it was supposed to be in Switzerland, on security and guarantees. In other words, we expect Turkey to deliver on security and guarantees, which is the thorny issue that provoked the failure of the negotiations in Switzerland," Alexandros Zenon said.
"The right to intervene should be abolished because as long as they have the right they can bring as many troops as they wish within a few hours. Conditions [for the resumption of the Cyprus talks] are not yet there because of Turkey’s position on the resumption of negotiations. And it is our hope that Turkey modifies its position and there will be preconditions for resuming of the talks again in parameters established by [UN Secretary-General Antonio] Guterres and that we shall in a very constructive spirit consider what the United Nations will propose," the diplomat added.
Cyprus has been partitioned since 1974, when Turkey occupied the island's northern part, later proclaiming the region the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Turkey maintains a military presence in TRNC, which is only recognized by Ankara as an independent state.
On July 7, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that a new round of the talks on the Cyprus dispute that took place in the Swiss town of Crans-Montana had ended with a failure of the parties to reach an agreement.
