Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias announced, on October 13, the cancellation of the annual military exercises after their meeting at the buffer zone in Nicosia within the framework of the comprehensive peace talks launched last month. The war games, the Turkish Cypriots’ Taurus and the Greek Cypriots’ Nikiforos, have frequently caused tension in the island.
Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a coup by Athens-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. A UN patrolled buffer zone separates the two communities.
The launch of negotiations marked the first major peace attempt since the failure of a UN reunification plan in 2004, approved by Turkish Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected by the Greek Cypriots.
The two leaders announced that abolishing the war-games would “improve the climate” and increase the chances of successful peace talks. Talat and Christofias were focusing on power sharing disputes, which remain at the heart of the Cyprus problem. The Greek Cypriot majority is seeking a reunification under a strong federal government but the Turkish Cypriots prefer a more devolved union. Other problematic issues include security guarantees and property settlement claims.
