The recent lifting of the US arms embargo against Cyprus has vindicated the country which has clearly demonstrated with its policies that Cyprus belongs to the West and does not waver when it comes to our political allies, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said on Sunday.
Nouris was addressing an event for the anniversary of the declaration of Independence of Cyprus, organized by the Federation of Cypriot Organizations of America, in cooperation with PSEKA and the Consulate of Cyprus in New York.
This is a day “of assessment, reflection and consideration of the debt we owe to our shared homeland,” he said, pledging that the government will “continue to work tirelessly and with determination to break the current deadlock, to find a just, viable and functional solution to our national problem, as defined in the relevant UN resolutions, in line with EU principles and values.”
Nouris also referred to the fact that Cyprus is the only divided European country.
Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. The latest round of talks, under the UN aegis, to reunite the island under a federal roof, took place in the summer of 2017 in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana but failed to yield results.
“It is a line that divides the people, our lands, our soil and our hearts, and that increases the human tragedy and complexity of the problem,” he said.
In his address, the Minister also referred to the revisionism of Turkey which, as he said, insists in an aggressive rhetoric choosing to deteriorate the relations between the two sides.
“And it is precisely for this reason, that we welcome the latest resounding decision of the American government to finally lift a long-standing injustice and discrimination against the Republic of Cyprus, with the complete lifting of the embargo on the supply of American weapons systems,” he said.
This decision, he added, “is a vindication for the stability of the positions of the Government of President Anastasiades, which has clearly demonstrated with its policies that Cyprus belongs to the West and does not waver when it comes to our political allies.”
He also spoke of the pure and selfless love Cypriots living abroad have for their country and of their support.
Throughout time, he noted addressing them, “you have been the main pillar of consolidating and strengthening cooperation and diplomatic relations between Cyprus and the countries you live in, making yourselves great ambassadors of our national positions and justice, but also of our culture and history.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency