Ankara says stands by guarantorship system for Cyprus

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey on Feb. 11 dismissed claims that it had accepted ending the guarantorship system for Cyprus, under which Turkey stands as a guarantor for the island.

“News reports in the Greek Cypriot press alleging that Turkey has accepted ending the guarantorship system for Cyprus are not true,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

Turkey's position concerning the guarantorship system established by the 1960 London and Zurich Treaties is clear, he added.

“A just and comprehensive settlement on the island will be only possible by ensuring the Turkish Cypriots’ political equality and responding to their security concerns,” he said.

In 1974, following a coup aimed at the annexation of Cyprus by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded.

The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute, all ending in failure. The latest, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. -- came to an end without any progress in 2017 in Switzerland.