Cyprus responds to Turkey’s threats and provocations by challenging Ankara to cooperate substantially for a Cyprus solution, Minster of Defence Demetris Eliades said.
Speaking in Kato Pyrgos, during the memorial service of Andreas Heracleous and Socrates Constantinides, two National Guard officers who lost their lives while on duty, conducting de-mining operations, in 1994, the Minister said that their loss has not yet been justified, as the Cyprus problem remains unsolved.
While Turkey threatens and provokes Cyprus, Nicosia challenges Ankara to work for a Cyprus solution and turn the island into a place of freedom, peace and progress for all its citizens, Eliades said.
However, the Minister went on, the Cyprus problem remains unsolved, as it was formed in the summer of 1974, following the Turkish invasion and occupation. He noted that Turkish settlers are multiplying, properties are being looted and the destruction of cultural heritage goes on, while Turkish troops continue to occupy the northern part of the island and comprise a deadly threat for the future.