Cyprus Bishop Doubts Reunification Possible

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Church of Cyprus head Archbishop Chrysostomos II said on Monday that reuniting the island's rival Greek and Turkish communities appeared impossible, in a rare interview accorded to Turkish media.

Chrysostomos told the English-language Hurriyet Daily News that a Cyprus resolution seemed unlikely because of "grandiose expectations" from minority Turkish Cypriots and Turkey.

"In Cyprus we want a unitary state. We want everybody (to) be equal in this state. But the Turks don't want that. Though they are 18 percent of the state and we offer them 25 percent participation in state, they don't want it."

He added that even if the two sides managed to settle their differences and sign an accord, reunification would not be viable as long as the some 30,000 Turkish troops deployed in the northern part of the island remained.

He also reiterated that he was opposed to the idea of a two-state settlement, saying that "There can be no divorce, no two states on the island."

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the northern third in response to a Greek-inspired coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the authorities in the northern sector.

The United Nations has held several rounds of talks between the two sides in a bid to reunite the island.

In April, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon abandoned plans for an international conference on the topic, saying leaders of the communities had not made enough progress on their disputes.

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