We are going through a particularly difficult period as challenges and stalemates intensify and Turkey with its actions methodically demands the division of Cyprus with the creation of two states, while proceeding with illegal activities in our exclusive economic zone and in the fenced off town of Varosha, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has said, calling for unity and consensus.
Speaking on Sunday at a memorial service for those who lost their lives during the EOKA liberation struggle and during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Minister said that we need to be united and determined in order to address all these illegal actions and constant threats, putting forward the international law and the UN Security Council Resolutions.
Nouris assured that the President of the Republic stands determined and ready with a clear political will for the resumption of the peace talks that will lead to a just, viable and functional solution that will safeguard the sovereignty and independence of the country and will create the conditions for all citizens to live in peace , security and propsperity without any foreing armies .
Referring to the missing persons` issue, he said that the government continues to fight in order to terminate Turkey`s unacceptable stance and supports the work of the Committee for the Missing Persons.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Numerous rounds of talks under the UN aegis to reunite the island under a federal roof failed to yield results.
Since the Turkish invasion the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
A Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of missing persons.
Source: Cyprus News Agency