Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

The confusing part is why the Turks insist on having 650 soldiers on the island and this guarantee when they know that Greece will correspondingly then have 1000 soldiers and equal guarantees.

In the past the two national contingets were used as the spearheads of preparation and training for inter communal trouble. Is this in the plans again?

Also the extent of the guarantee is not clear- is it a guarantee for the whole or the one "constituent" part? The devil is, as always, in the details.

[Paphitis]

The confusing part is why the Turks insist on having 650 soldiers on the island and this guarantee when they know that Greece will correspondingly then have 1000 soldiers and equal guarantees.

We do not require either the 1000 Greek troops or the 650 Turkish troops. Cyprus needs to be a self sufficient and united nation with it's own volunteer based and fully professional armed defense force comprising of both GC and TC service personnel that have only one objective - The defense of Cyprus.

In the past the two national contingets were used as the spearheads of preparation and training for inter communal trouble. Is this in the plans again?

We can only assume that this would be the case. Inter communal violence can so easily be instigated by just 1 terrorist attack from nationalistic forces or from the TA contingent's secret service attache.

Also the extent of the guarantee is not clear- is it a guarantee for the whole or the one "constituent" part? The devil is, as always, in the details

No Treaty of Guarantee will be acceptable to many Cypriots. This Treaty of Guarantee has caused our present predicament, and will again be our demise post solution. The present negotiations are seen by many as an attempt by Turkey to further it's EU ambitions whilst still maintaining a stranglehold on Cyprus and legalising it's partitionist and expansionist ambitions.

[roseandchan]

but all of cyprus would be part of the e.u . it wouldn't need anyone to guarantee anything.