Since assuming the government of the country, the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has made targeted and concrete moves that will lead the two sides to dialogue, with the sole aim of finding a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue, within the framework set out in the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions, and in accordance with the principles and values of the European Union and International Law, said Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Sunday.
He was speaking at the III Army Corps memorial in Thessaloniki, for those who fell during the coup d’état and the 1974 Turkish invasion.
He said that we are at an important moment in the course of the Cyprus problem with the consultations of the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General underway and “we await the results”.
“The position of the President of the Republic is firm and clear, despite Turkey’s provocative and obsolete demands for a two-state solution. For the Greek Cypriot side, the European Union and the interna
tional community, there is no other acceptable form of solution other than a bizonal, bicommunal federation, Ioannou said.
He noted that the provocative stance and rhetoric as well as the climate methodically cultivated by the Turkish side will not stop our will to return to talks.
“We expect Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side to abandon their excessive and out-of-context demands and come to the dialogue in a constructive spirit, in order to reach the desired result, which is none other than the reunification of the country and the people,” he said.
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.
Last January, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Cuellar as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forw
ard in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency