Cyprus guarantee system is complicated

There are many aspects of the Cyprus problem. It is neither just a property or refugee is-sue, nor a territory matter. It definitely includes all such headings, as well as the partnership of the two peoples in the land and the sovereignty of the island. But, even if there is an ac-cord answering the expectations of the two peoples on all those headings, will the problem be resolved? Unfortunately not.

Besides the "internal" one, there is an "external" balance issue that needs to be addressed as well.

Irrespective of whether Cypriots of all ethnicities may like it or not, Cyprus is unfor-tunately not important just for Cypriots; it has a security dimension that concerns many other countries. Why does Britain still retain two "sovereign" bases on the eastern Mediter-ranean island even though it ended its colonial administration there in 1960? Why does Russia every now and then demand Greek Cypriots grant it military base rights similar to those of the British? Which bases on which Mediterranean island were most used in the Ar-ab Spring "operations" or in the attacks on Saddam Hussein's Iraq the other day or Moam-mar Gadhafi's Libya yesterday?

Cyprus is important for Turkey's security as well. Greek Cypriot friends often quote Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu "confessing" in his "Strategic Depth" book that Turkey would intervene in Cyprus even if there was not a single Turkish Cypriot on the island. It is a matter of perception. If a place or something is important for a country, it is important. If there is a jewel in that important place, can it cease to be important or become even more so?

Yes, for the security of Turkey, in order to prevent the country from being encircled with hostile powers at an unfortunate time, it is important...