Can Cyprus Be Made 'Free of Guarantors and Intervention Rights'? Christodoulides's Vision, the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and Fidan's Visit to the TRNC

Why It Matters

No. The 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, signed by Cyprus, Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, contains no unilateral exit clause, and under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties a treaty is ordinarily ended only by the consent of its parties. Christodoulides's 'without guarantors' vision is therefore a negotiating goal, not a unilateral option.

On 6 November 2026, Greek City Times reported that Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides had reaffirmed his vision of a state 'without occupation forces, without guarantors and without intervention rights'. The same day, Rudaw, citing Anadolu Agency (AA), reported that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman and TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel in Nicosia. The two reports show how far apart the sides remain on security, the hardest chapter in any Cyprus issue two-state solution explained debate.

Background

The Treaty of Guarantee was signed on 16 August 1960, following the Zurich and London Agreements of 11 February 1959. With the Treaty of Establishment and Treaty of Alliance, it formed the Republic of Cyprus's founding framework and made Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom guarantors, with an Article IV right to act if consultation fails.

The 1959–1960 treaty package

The Zurich and London Agreements ended British colonial rule after the ENOSIS campaign (union with Greece) and the EOKA insurgency that began in 1955. They created a Republic built on the political equality of two communities. The package contained three treaties:

• Treaty of Establishment (Cyprus, Greece, Türkiye, United Kingdom): created the Republic and let Britain retain the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
• Treaty of Guarantee (Cyprus, Greece, Türkiye, United Kingdom): protects the independence and constitutional order of the Republic.
• Treaty of Alliance (Cyprus, Greece, Türkiye): provided for small Greek and Turkish military contingents on the island.

The Basic Articles of the 1960 Constitution were designed to be unamendable (Article 182), and the Constitution gave the Treaty of Guarantee and Treaty of Alliance constitutional force (Article 181). The Republic's own legal existence is therefore tied to the guarantee system.

Treaty of Guarantee Article IV: what the text says

• Article I: Cyprus undertakes to maintain its independence, territorial integrity, security and constitutional order, not to participate in union with any state, and to prohibit activity promoting union or partition.
• Article II: Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom recognise and guarantee that independence and the state of affairs set by the Basic Articles, and prohibit activity promoting enosis or partition.
• Article IV: In the event of a breach, the three powers undertake to consult. If common or concerted action proves impossible, each reserves the right to act with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs established by the Treaty.

Note what Article IV does and does not say. It sets a consultation-first sequence and a limited purpose. It does not say who may declare it void, and it contains no termination clause.

Who can end a treaty?

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) states the principle of pacta sunt servanda in Article 26: treaties in force bind their parties and must be performed in good faith. Article 54 allows termination by consent of all parties, and Article 56 limits denunciation of treaties with no exit clause to cases where such a right was intended or can be implied. Türkiye is not a party to the Convention, but its core rules on this point are widely regarded as reflecting customary law. A declaration by one party, or accession by one party to another organisation, does not by itself end obligations owed to the other parties.

Chronology and legal instruments

After the 2004 vote, the Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU on 1 May 2004. The Annan Plan itself kept the Treaty of Guarantee in force in an adjusted form, with revised troop arrangements. Even the UN's blueprint therefore treated guarantees as something to be renegotiated by the parties rather than erased.

Key Players & Positions

Positions differ sharply. The Greek Cypriot administration under Nikos Christodoulides, backed by Athens and framed within EU law, wants guarantees and intervention rights ended. The United Kingdom remains a guarantor and holds the Sovereign Base Areas, while the UN Secretary-General's good-offices mission seeks a settlement; Ankara links any change to Turkish Cypriot equality.

The Greek Cypriot administration

Greek City Times quoted Christodoulides on 6 November 2026: "Our vision is the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus into a free and sovereign state throughout its entire territory, without occupation forces, without guarantors and without intervention rights. A solution based on the agreed framework, respecting the negotiating acquis and, of course, the principles, values and law of the European Union." The Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus has long held that guarantees and intervention rights are anachronistic for an EU member state. Greek Cypriot official accounts describe the 1963 amendment proposals as an attempt to make the state workable, and say Turkish Cypriot officials left their posts. Turkish sources say they were forced out by violence.

Greece, the EU, the UK and the UN

Greek governments have consistently said that the guarantee system and foreign troops should end in a settlement. EU Council conclusions support a settlement within the UN framework and in line with the principles on which the Union is founded. The UK, a signatory to both the Treaty of Establishment and the Treaty of Guarantee, retains its Sovereign Base Areas and is a participant in 5+UN formats. UN Security Council Resolution 1251 (1999) described a settlement as a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, and the Secretary-General's good-offices reports have continued to refer to that basis. Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot leadership argue that this formula has been exhausted after decades of talks (see Will an informal 5+UN conference on Cyprus happen in 2026?).

Regional context

Two other reported developments sit around, but are not the core of, this story. Warsight reported a 5 November 2026 Israel–Greece–Cyprus defence trilateral in Athens that voiced opposition to the 2019 Türkiye–Libya maritime memorandum, and Greek City Times reported on 6 November that Greece had completed licensing for research and cable-laying under the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI). For the legal background, see our guide to the Türkiye–Libya maritime memorandum of 2019 and the Blue Homeland and Eastern Mediterranean maritime jurisdiction guide.

The 6 November visit

Rudaw, citing AA, reported that Fidan visited the TRNC on 6 November to discuss bilateral relations and the latest developments in efforts to resolve the dispute, meeting Erhürman and Üstel in Nicosia. Erhürman, who took office as Turkish Cypriot leader after the October 2025 election, and Ankara are not necessarily identical in emphasis, so this article cites only what the reports state.

Source Comparison

Greek Cypriot and EU-aligned sources describe 'occupation' and 'anachronistic guarantees', while the treaty text and Turkish Foreign Ministry framing stress consent, Article IV and Turkish Cypriot equality. The table below separates each claim from what the documents say, so readers can test each framing against primary texts.

For questions on hydrocarbons and revenue sharing, see the 2011, 2012 and 2019 Turkish Cypriot proposals, and for our sourcing standards, see the Editorial Principles.

Key Terms & Related Guides

This glossary defines the terms that recur in the Cyprus guarantee debate: ENOSIS, the Basic Articles, Article IV, pacta sunt servanda and the Sovereign Base Areas. Related guides below examine the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, UNSC Resolution 186 and the TRNC's status in more depth.

• ENOSIS: the Greek Cypriot nationalist aim of union with Greece, prohibited by Articles I and II of the Treaty of Guarantee.
• Basic Articles: the core provisions of the 1960 Constitution that were designed to be unamendable.
• Article IV: the consultation-first clause that reserves each guarantor's right to act with the sole aim of re-establishing the Treaty's state of affairs.
• Pacta sunt servanda: the principle that treaties in force must be performed in good faith (VCLT Article 26).
• Sovereign Base Areas: the British-retained territories of Akrotiri and Dhekelia under the Treaty of Establishment.
• TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 2983 by Rauf Raif Denktaş and recognised only by Türkiye; UNSC Resolution 541 declared the proclamation legally invalid.

Related reading: the Cyprus issue and two-state solution guide, Fact Check Arena, About Diplomacy Arena and the Diplomacy Arena FAQ.

Perspective Note

Diplomacy Arena presents Türkiye's official perspective and legal theses alongside the counter-arguments of other parties, and clearly labels analysis as distinct from reporting. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaty texts, UN documents, official statements and archival records, with links provided wherever available.

Diplomacy Arena Editorial Team