"Only a lasting and viable solution to the Cyprus problem will restore basic freedoms and human rights for all, without exception, legitimate inhabitants of Cyprus", President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said in a statement to APE-MPA on the 50th anniversary of the coup and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. At the same time, he noted that "despite the difficulties and problems, the challenges and frustrations, we are doing everything possible to create the conditions for the resumption of talks and to reach a solution that will end the occupation." President Christodoulides also underlines that "half a century later, the responsibilities of those who perpetrated the invasion and maintain the occupation, and of all those who allow the continuation of the division of Cyprus by force, continue to be heavy" and notes that "the fiftieth anniversary of the dark anniversaries of the treacherous coup and the brutal Turkish invasion is an occasion for collective national reflection." They offer, he says, "n ot only lessons to be learnt but also a reaffirmation of principles, values and positions in relation to dealing with the continued occupation of a large part of the territory of an independent state, the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the United Nations and the European Union." "What is currently taking place in Ukraine, where the international community is rightly reacting, happened in European Cyprus 50 years ago, the consequences of which are continuing to violate basic human rights," President Christodoulides adds. Consequences and actions, he notes, which constitute a blatant violation of international and European law, the UN Charter, the Republic of Cyprus' sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and an undisputed violation of fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Cypriots, who are forced to live in their own country deprived of basic human rights." Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue. Source: Cyprus News Agency