Former Israeli President Shimon Peres has said that a solution to the Cyprus issue will help both the island and the wider region.
He was speaking during a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign and European Affairs and President of the ruling party DISY Averof Neophytou at the Peres Peace Centre in Jaffa, an official statement said here on Wednesday.
Neophytou, who has been visiting Israel at the invitation of his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi, concludes his visit today.
Peres has said that Turkey`s policy of zero problems with its neighbours has resulted in a policy with zero friends and neighbours.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Peres said that its solution will help both Cyprus and the wider region
but it was generally recognized that, if Turkey does not show real will, free of policies that put Cyprus under its hegemony, a solution of the Cyprus problem will not be achieved.
During the discussion, Neofytou briefed Peres on the latest developments to the Cyprus problem and exchanged views on Turkey and its stance on regional issues and the Cyprus problem.
Peres outlined to Neofytou his vision of developing technology and science as a tool to achieve peace and stability throughout the world, including Cyprus and the Middle East. He underlined the importance of cooperation between Cyprus and Israel in the fields of science and technological development.
He also said that Cyprus can become a centre for research, exploiting its status as EU member and underlined the significant role that universities in Cyprus can play towards this.
Peres accepted an invitation by Neofytou to visit Cyprus to contribute to these efforts and to talk to the academic community on the island about his vision of peace in the region.
The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, has been divided since the Turkish invasion in 1974. Turkish troops still occupy 37% of the island. UN led talks are underway with a view to reach a political solution that would reunify the island under a federal roof.