Greek PM calls for unified Cyprus on 50th anniversary of 1974 invasion
A relative of a soldier, killed in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, stands front of his grave in the Tymvos Macedonitissas military cemetery during the 50th anniversary in the divided capital of Nicosia, Saturday. [AP]
Marking the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis issued a statement on Saturday paying homage to those who lost their lives in the conflict and calling for a peace deal in line with the UN-endorsed plan for a federated island.
“We honor those who were lost. And we strive for a unified European state, based on the UN resolutions. Without foreign occupation troops,” Mitsotakis said, quoting Greek Cypriot poet Leonidas Malenis to describe Cyprus as “a golden-green leaf cast upon the sea.”
Mitsotakis is scheduled to deliver a speech at a remembrance event commemorating the invasion at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia at 8.30 p.m.
