President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci agreed on the number of armed forces on both sides following a Cyprus solution, according to the latter on Sunday.
In remarks made following his face-to-face talks with Anastasiades, Akinci stated: “We have come to an agreement that there should be an equal number of armed security units and federal investigation units.
“We had already accepted that the number of the desk officers would be 60-40 per cent.”
According to both leaders, citizenship issues, including legal residence, property rights, basic freedoms, and the right to vote were the main agenda items on Sunday.
The meeting was chaired by UN Special Advisor on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, who also saw discussions about bi-zones and bi-communality.
“We confirmed once again the reconciliation that we had agreed on before, about ‘the right of legal residence which will be 20 per cent of the number of citizens in the Turkish Cypriot constituent state‘,” added Akinci.
He said the property right was a reconciled agenda item during meetings, reported Anadolu Agency.
“The agreement on this issue has become a mutual understanding,” added Akinci.
“Implementation of this mutual understanding has no concern for us anymore in terms of bi-zones, which has become more of an issue in terms of right to vote in a referendum.”
REACTION TO TSIPRAS
Commenting on Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ comments that “a solution with the permanent presence of Turkish troops on the island is not a solution,” Akinci responded: “The number of the troops after the solution will not be the same. Reducing the number of the troops is one of the results of the solution.”
He added: “Viewing this issue from this perspective will contribute to the solution, but it’s not possible to reach a solution if you say ‘zero army, zero security, zero guarantees‘.”
UN TALKS
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and illegally occupied its northern third.
Peace talks between Anastasiades and Akinci have been underway since May 2015, aiming to reunify the island under a federal roof.
Both leaders are scheduled to meet again today.
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