Cyprus leader sees delay in talks as Ankara 'controls' Turkish Cypriots

A few days after the latest round of Cyprus peace talks stalled, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Friday that he believed Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci would not return to the negotiating table before a constitutional referendum scheduled to be held in Turkey in April.

In comments to the English-language Cyprus Weekly and the Turkish-Cypriot Havadis Gazetesi, Anastasiades declared that Ankara controls the Turkish-Cypriot leadership "whether Akinci accepts it or not."

Commenting on Turkish-Cypriot demand for a rotating presidency, Anastasiades questioned why the Turkish-Cypriot side insists on focusing on this issue rather than others such as territorial adjustments and the matter of foreign guarantees. This, he said, demonstrates the inability of the Turkish-Cypriot side to respond to the concerns of Greek Cypriots. He said the priority should be to resolve...