NICOSIA (Reuters) – Turkey would be willing to withdraw its troops from Cyprus if a peace deal is reached between estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Tuesday. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities have been divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a short-lived Greek-inspired coup. The conflict is harming Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union, where Greek Cypriots representing the island have veto powers over Ankara's admission. In a rare interview with three Greek Cypriot newspapers published on Tuesday, Erdogan said Turkey would consider withdrawing its troops from northern Cyprus if there were a peace settlement. "With respect to the withdrawal of troops, we've spoken about this before. Over a period of time, those troops can be withdrawn," Erdogan was quoted as saying. Turkey has about 30,000 soldiers in northern Cyprus, a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognised only by Ankara. Ankara would not respond to calls for an immediate pullout, Erdogan said. His words received a cool reception from Greek Cypriots. Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said Turkey had not responded to EU calls to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic and was ignoring UN resolutions on the island.
