Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and the newly appointed Greek Foreign Minister, Georgios Gerapetritis, discussed an initiative to solve the Cyprus issue with more active involvement of the European Union, the Press and Information Office (PIO) said on Tuesday
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2023) Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and the newly appointed Greek Foreign Minister, Georgios Gerapetritis, discussed an initiative to solve the Cyprus issue with more active involvement of the European Union, the Press and Information Office (PIO) said on Tuesday.
"President Christodoulides, welcoming Gerapetritis, wished him every success in his new position as the Greek Foreign Minister, expressing confidence that cooperation between the two governments 'will continue and strengthen even more.' He added that 'there are common goals, common aspirations. Greece and Cyprus are pillars of stability in the region'," the government agency said in a statement.
For his part, Gerapetritis said it was necessary to find a fair solution to the Cyprus issue.
"We are living in really historic moments. The situation is quite tense regionally and internationally, the challenges are very big. We have to, within the framework of our common understanding and vision of how our interests should be promoted, ensure that the Cyprus problem gets the fair and viable solution we all want," Gerapetritis said.
He added that another historic opportunity was to involve the United Nations and the EU, which could take on a more active role through Christodoulides' personal efforts and the support of the Greek prime minister.
The island of Cyprus has been de facto divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded it to support Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 and is only diplomatically recognized by Ankara.
Tensions around the island escalated again on June 12, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first overseas trip to the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus after his reelection in late May. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry condemned Erdogan's visit, saying that it was a "blantant violation of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council."
