THE TURKISH army will withdraw from Cyprus if a solution to the Cyprus problem is found, the head of the Turkish armed forces indicated yesterday.
“We came to Cyprus to make peace, and will remain here keeping the peace until a fair and lasting settlement is found,” Chief of Staff Yasar Buyukanit said during a one-day visit to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday.
As if to drum the message home, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat echoed Buyukanit’s statement, saying that the Turkish army had provided security for the Turkish Cypriot people over the last three decades, and would continue to do so “until a fair and lasting settlement of the Cyprus problem has been found”.
Coming just days after Talat and Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias had agreed to kick-start negotiations and open a new crossing in the Green Line, Buyukanit’s visit had caused consternation both sides of the island. Some believe that even if Talat is willing to make concessions in order to achieve reunification, the army may block moves it perceives that compromise Turkey’s strategic or security interests.
“It’s not just an agreement between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, but would require amendment of international accords between Britain, Turkey and Greece,” lecturer in international relations at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Erol Kaymak told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.
“A comprehensive settlement also requires Turkey’s signature,” he added.
Kaymak believes the timing of Buyukanit’s visit is “no coincidence” and that he was on the island to “established his red lines with Talat”, despite the fact that it was ostensibly at Talat’s invitation that Buyukamit was on the island yesterday.
But ultimately Kaymak, and a number of diplomats on Cyprus, believe it will be Talat and the Turkish government who will be calling the shots on Cyprus, and not the military.
“He [Buyukanit] wants to authorise the opening of the crossing, and be seen to be doing so,” Kaymak said, but added: “Any military withdrawals will not be at the behest of the military, but because the government in Turkey wants to get closer to the EU.”
Yesterday, Buyukanit was giving the impression he had full faith in Talat, saying that whatever shape a future settlement took, he was sure Talat would get it right, and furthermore be able to convince the Greek Cypriots of its necessary shape.
The relationship between the two figures has, however, not always been so friendly. In December 2006, Buyukanit summoned Talat to Ankara after the Turkish Cypriot leadership, apparently without consultation with the military, decided to dismantle a bridge at the Ledra Street barricade.
As Kaymak said yesterday, “Talat was summoned to Ankara and scolded.” Talat had then sought to play down the clash, while the general had “gone out of his way to publicise their disagreement”.
A diplomatic source in Nicosia yesterday expressed pleasure at Buyukanit’s inference that the Turkish military would leave the island once Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots felt confident that the Turkish Cypriot community’s security concerns were taken care of.
The source added that he could also see no strategic reasons why Turkey would want to maintain a military presence after a solution, saying, “In a modern context, countries can protect their strategic interests without the need to keep troops on the ground.”
Asked if he thought Turkey had other vested interests on the island the source said, “It would be bad for Turkey if there were.”
