Anastasiades says Akinci had planned to leave talks beforehand

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has accused Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci of having planned to leave the negotiating table beforehand last week, in a bid to avoid being seen as intransigent with regard to Turkey's demand to maintain troops on the island and the right to intervene in the event of a settlement.

In an interview to Cyprus daily Phileleftheros published on Sunday, Anastasiades insisted that Akinci and Ankara should not persist on equating the majority Greek community on the island with the minority one of the Turkish Cypriots.

"There is no justification for their insistence for the minority to call the shots and for the majority to obey," he said, adding that this was unprecedented and that the Turkish Cypriots "must understand this."

The United Nations-backed talk to reunite the island received a setback last week after they were abruptly...