Talat expects reunification plan

NICOSIA, Cyprus

The two Cypriot communities will draft a plan to reunify the divided island by the end of the year, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said on Sunday (July 5th) in an interview with the Greek Cypriot daily Simerini. Talat, however, predicted international arbitration will be required.

“Without a positive intervention [by the international community], without a bridge to link the two sides’ different positions, a solution would be impossible,” he stressed.

Talat reiterated Turkish Cypriots’ stance that Turkey should keep its guarantor status on the island, even after reunification. The UK, Turkey and Greece have had guarantor status in Cyprus since 1960.