Establishment of two states in Cyprus is impossible and the issue should be settled based on the UN Security Council resolutions, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2021) Establishment of two states in Cyprus is impossible and the issue should be settled based on the UN Security Council resolutions, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday.
Mitsotakis has arrived in Egypt for an official visit, during which he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
"President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and I share the same view on the ongoing trials of Cyprus, which links out countries through trilateral cooperation. As the president has reaffirmed today, Egypt firmly supports the relevant UN resolutions. For my part, I once again emphasized that there can be no other solution, but the one provided by these resolutions � a bi-zonal bi-communal federation. With one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international legal entity," Mitsotakis said.
According to the prime minister, the establishment of two states "is out of question," since it contradicts the decisions of the UN Security Council and European laws, and is incompatible with the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and its EU membership.
He also noted that such declarations have been accompanied by threatening actions, including the further opening of the Varosha quarter [a special-regime zone in the Cypriot city of Famagusta under the UNSC Resolution of 1984] and plans to create an unmanned aircraft base on the island.
Mitsotakis stressed said that the possible implementation of such plans will further hinder the prospects for resolving the Cyprus issue, threaten the European Union's interests, and undermine international stability, the prestige of the United Nations and the security of all states in the region.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey sent its forces there purportedly to protect the island's Turkish population. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared its independence, without being recognized by anyone except the Turkish government. Since then, the reunification process has been ongoing, but not without occasional lapses, the last one being the failed 2017 Crans-Montana negotiations, after which the negotiations ceased altogether.
