Turkey denies claims on ending guarantorship system for Cyprus

Turkey on Tuesday dismissed claims that it had accepted ending the guarantor system for Cyprus.

"News reports in the Greek Cypriot press alleging that Turkey has accepted ending the guarantorship system for Cyprus are not true," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

Turkey's position concerning the guarantorship system, established by the 1960 London and Zurich Treaties is clear, he added.

"A just and comprehensive settlement on the island will only be possible by ensuring the Turkish Cypriots' political equality and responding to their security concerns," he said.

The Cyprus problem has remained unresolved for decades despite a series of efforts by the U.N. for a lasting settlement between Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

The latest attempt to resolve the problem in Switzerland failed in 2017 and recent tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have further complicated efforts for a settlement.

The Greek Cypriot administration continues to oppose recognizing the political equality of Turkish Cypriots and claims to be the island's sole legitimate government.

The island has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot government in the northern third and Greek Cypriot administration in the south since a 1974 military coup aimed at Cyprus' annexation by Greece.

Turkey's intervention as a guarantor power in 1974 had stopped years-long persecution and violence against Turkish Cypriots by ultra-nationalist Greek Cypriots.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded In 1983.