Athens, Nicosia restate common front on Cyprus

At a time of apparent mobility on the Cyprus issue despite Ankara’s hard line, Athens and Nicosia reaffirmed their common stance during the meeting on Monday between visiting Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

Mitsotakis noted that Greece and Cyprus “continue in full coordination either at the level of the EU or the UN and at the level of our bilateral and multilateral contacts to pursue a just and mutually acceptable solution, a bizonal bicommunal federation always within the framework of UN resolutions.”

“These resolutions have been, are and will remain our guide. In the 21st century, this historical wound that continues to bleed in an independent country cannot be left open. Neither the presence of an occupying army in an EU member-state nor the outdated system of guarantees of the right of third parties to intervene in its affairs can be tolerated,” he noted, while stressing that the thought of a two-state solution that Ankara is seeking “is off the agenda for discussion.”

Christodoulides, for his part, essentially refuted the rumors of problems in his relationship with the prime minister, saying, among other things, that “no matter how much some people in Athens or Nicosia see differences between us for their own reasons, our goals and aspirations are the same,
as are the way and means to achieve them.”

“We are following developments in Turkey after the elections with interest and welcome Ankara’s public statements on its desire to strengthen Euro-Turkish relations,” he said.

Christodoulides also noted that the EU “is fully committed and ready to contribute actively at all stages of the process and with all the means at its disposal, while at the same time it is ready to contribute actively to the process.”

He also announced that Cyprus will help in the reforestation of the parts of Rhodes destroyed in the recent fires.