Athens-based newspaper Kathimerini reports the demonstrators crossed the United Nations buffer zone in capital Nicosia, the world's last remaining divided city, and handed Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci a declaration urging him and Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to capitalize on the opportunity offered by the summit and reach agreement "without hesitation."
Hundreds of people braved the cold and make joint call for reunification — https://t.co/0UelrfKETY #Cyprus #CyProb pic.twitter.com/kdNCOlgR1w
— The Cypriot Puzzle (@Cypriot_Puzzle) December 14, 2016
Demonstrators waved placards reading "Yes to a Solution", chanting "Cyprus belongs to its people" in both Greek and Turkish.
"We're here supporting the process…we expect a solution. Peace is for the benefit of Greece, Turkey and the whole region," Turkish Cypriot Salih Ostoprak is reported to have said.
Akinci stated he was hopeful the summit in January, to be held in Geneva, would mark the "beginning of a new era".
The demonstrators also marched to the Presidential palace, where they handed the declaration to Deputy Minister Constantinos Petrides in Anastasiades' absence. The President is currently in Brussels, attending a meeting of European Union leaders.
At the summit, the two leaders will negotiate how much territory would be held in Greek and Turkish Cypriot zones in a planned federation. A major obstacle to reunification is the web of 'guarantees' to Cyprus currently in operation. The 1960 Treaty of Guarantee established Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom as guarantors of Cyprian security and territorial integrity, and reserved the right of the guarantors to interfere in island's affairs if a threat is posed to the country's independence.
If an agreement is reached, a meeting of Cyprus' ostensible 'guarantors' — Greece, Turkey and former colonial occupier Britain — will be held to discuss post-settlement security arrangements.
Turkey used this as warrant for its 1974 invasion of the north of the island, which divided the country into its present form. The intervention followed a coup d'état that replaced President Makarios III with pro-Enosis (Greek irredentist) dictator Nikos Sampson. Turkey has continued to occupy 40% the country since, declaring a breakaway state in 1983; its independence has only ever been recognized by Turkey. When Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, full membership benefits were only extended to the south.
Speaking to Sputnik, Professor Andreas Theophanous, President of the Cyprus Center for European & International Affairs, said the majority of citizens were extremely skeptical of the deal that will be considered at the summit.
"The proposal would create three separate governments of equal standing — southern, northern and central. I find it impossible to imagine how such a governmental structure could work in the Eurozone. Cypriots are unimpressed with the deal, with most thinking it will just make the situation worse — that's why the march attracted so few people," Professor Theophanous told Sputnik.
Professor Theophanous added that while the guarantee system was problematic, it was not the main obstacle to reunification. He went on to note that the Greek government is prepared to withdraw from its guarantor status, although the prospect of continuing Turkish military presence in Cyprus post-reunification would be a significant impediment to reunification.
Earlier in December, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides suggested the failed July coup d'état in Turkey could mean President Erdogan reconsiders his position on the issue of reunification, as "the army obstacle no longer exists".
