President Demetris Christofias urged tonight all concerned to remain interested and continue assisting Cypriots to reunify Cyprus adding that it is our only hope for our future and the future of our children, their prosperity and welfare.
Addressing the UN Day Reception hosted by Special Representative of UN SG in Cyprus Liza Buttenheim, President Christofias expressed hope that the effort towards the reunification of this beautiful country is maintained and that the UN will continue offering their services and assistance towards this end.
Buttenheim said that the UN family’s over-arching goal in Cyprus is ending the island’s division through a mutually agreed comprehensive settlement.
“We in the United Nations believe that a solution to the Cyprus problem remains within reach, and encourage every Cypriot to participate actively in the debate that will shape the future of the country”, she added.
We urge all Cypriots, she said, to do their utmost with good faith and dedication to resolve this protracted problem so that they and generations to come may enjoy a prosperous and peaceful future.
“Tonight I take the opportunity to re-pledge the commitment of the UN to do everything we can to help them reach that goal”, she added.
Buttenheim stressed that “progress may be slow but we cannot, and must not, lose hope”.
She said that the UN family in Cyprus – whether the peacekeepers of UNFICYP or Special Adviser Downer and his team in the Good Offices, or UNDP-ACT, UNDP-PFF or UNHCR – are dedicated to helping the people of this beautiful island live together peacefully and find a sustainable solution.
She noted that “no one is more committed to the search for a comprehensive solution that SG Ban Ki-Moon himself, as his actions over recent years have demonstrated”.
President Christofias congratulated the United Nations Organisation as a whole for its work, “in these incredibly challenging times where we must work together for peace, democracy, human rights, poverty-eradication, economic and social development, environmental sustainability and prosperity for all”.
He expressed his appreciation to the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “who despite the great challenges in these difficult times has devoted a great deal of effort and time to the negotiation process on the Cyprus problem”.
He also thanked the good offices team for their hard work in assisting the Secretary-General with this mandate.
President referred to the support by the permanent members and all members of the United Nations Security Council, whose role is vital as regards the negotiations but also in connection to the preservation of a strong and efficient peacekeeping force in Cyprus, as long as the abnormal situation continues.
“In these past five years I have exerted every effort to realise my vision of a reunified homeland: a bizonal, bicommunal federal Cyprus, with political equality, as defined in the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. As my term of office draws to a close, I am deeply saddened that this vision, my lifetime goal, has yet to be attained”, he added.
Concluding President Christofias wished for peace, cooperation and mutual creativity for all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins and for the whole world.