Greece and Turkey need to hammer out assurances on security before new talks on Cyprus can go ahead, Athens’ foreign minister has said.

Nikos Kotzias, speaking to the Sto Kokkinio radio station, said Greece had previously stressed the need for such guarantees ahead of peace talks in Switzerland last year which broke up without success.

He suggested that by not resolving such issues ahead of talks involving all sides, negotiations become embroiled in security details.

Kotzias was speaking ahead of next Monday’s anticipated visit to the occupied north of the island by Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It promises to be the Turkish president’s first trip outside Turkey after he won re-election last month.

Kotzias said Greece did not want to continue being a ‘guarantor power’ as outlined in the 1960 agreement on Cyprus, including Turkey and the U.K, calling on Ankara and London to surrender similar roles.

The UN is currently investigating whether enough agreement exists to reconvene a conference on Cyprus’ future.

Source: John Smith/greekreporter