London – ‘If the two communities in Cyprus agree a model for the security of Cyprus in the future, and that model requires Britain to play no role, we will be quite happy to play no role,’ UK’s Foreign Secretary says.

Britain has no objection to withdrawing from its role of guarantor power in Cyprus if the divided island’s two communities demand it, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday.

“The system we have at the moment is of tripartite guarantees between Greece, Turkey and Britain,” Hammond said on a visit to Athens, adding that talks on the four-decade dispute could be close to a breakthrough.
“If the two communities in Cyprus agree a model for the security of Cyprus in the future, and that model requires Britain to play no role, we will be quite happy to play no role,” he said.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias described the system as “anachronistic” and “illegal under many aspects of international law”.

The eastern Mediterranean island has been split since 1974.
Greece, Turkey and Britain have been guarantors of Cyprus’ independence under a 1960 treaty.
Britain, the formal colonial power, retains military bases in Cyprus that are sovereign British territory.
Hopes have grown for a peace deal since Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders resumed UN-brokered negotiations in May, with meetings intensifying in recent months to their highest level in years.

“I’ve made several visits to Cyprus over the last few months, meeting members of both communities, and I am optimistic that we may be on the brink of a breakthrough in resolving this dispute,” Hammond said.
UN mediator Espen Barth Eide earlier this month reported that the talks had made “significant progress” but that major issues remained unresolved./worldbulletin/