President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades stressed Friday that Greece and Cyprus share as a common position the cooperation with all states, under the strict condition of respect for international law, the Law of the Sea, the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of states.
In his statements to the press, after his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in Athens, President Anastasiades said that they had a very productive discussion, which covered a wide range of issues, with the Cyprus issue at the forefront.
As he explained, during the meeting developments in the Cyprus issue were discussed, such as the recent visit of the US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, and the efforts made by the UN Secretary General to appoint an Envoy for Cyprus, in order to create the conditions for the resumption of the dialogue.
Moreover, Anastasiades said that he discussed with Kyriakos Mitsotakis the letter that he has prepared for Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, which includes specific proposals. “This is an initiative I am taking in order to create a positive climate for the resumption of the dialogue”, the President of Cyprus explained.
Mitsotakis and Anastasiades also discussed the upcoming meeting of the Greek Prime Minister with the US President, with the aim of coordinating actions and objectives of Greece and Cyprus.
In this context, Anastasiades noted that “highlighting the dangers of expansionist aspirations or hostile actions will form part of the Greek Prime Minister’s discussion with the US President”.
“Greece’s and Cyprus’ common position is that we do not exclude cooperation with any state, neither from the trilateral nor from the multilateral partnerships we have developed. What we seek is respect for international law, the law of the sea, as well as respect for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of states,” Anastasiades said.
At the same time, the agenda of the meeting also included the energy crisis and the energy processes in the region, which could lead Turkey “to understand the benefits of a solution to the Cyprus problem”,President Anastasiades said.
EU’s efforts to ensure its independence from Russian gas and the issue of European sanctions on Russia were also discussed during the meeting.
“We are both clear: both against the Russian invasion and, of course, in favor of sanctions,” the President of Cyprus pointed out. He stressed, however, that “sanctions should be targeted, and they should not serve certain states, leaving other states exposed.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency