It’s emerged the security situation in Cyprus was the main stumbling block during talks on reunifying the island.<br /><br /> Greece wants Turkey to withdraw its 30,000 troops but Ankara insists their presence is a “force of stability.” <br /><br /> Speaking a day after the talks broke-up without any agreement Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the issue has been brought up before and that Greece too should pull-out their troops.<br /><br /> Cyprus says it foresees “radical” reform of the island’s security and that Turkey’s participation in the talks shows its prepared to cooperate.<br /><br /> Cyprus has been partitioned into ethnic Turkish and Greek zones since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 in response to a short-lived coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece. But intercommunal violence had simmered since the 1960s when a power-sharing system collapsed.<br /><br /> In a statement, the United Nations said technical talks on security, which begin next Wednesday, are expected to run in parallel with negotiations to tie-up unresolved issues in other areas.<br /><br /> Espen Barth Eide, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus said:<br />“The final decision is to be made by the people in referenda. I mean one referendum but one on each side, on the same day. And we will of course only know when we’ve seen the outcome.<br /><br /> According to the UN, the conference on security, including the governments of Greece, Turkey and Britain, will continue “immediately thereafter” but it’s failed to set a precise date.<br />
