Presidential Commissioner, Photis Photiou, discussed with the British High Commissioner to Cyprus, Irfan Siddiq, the assistance that the United Kingdom can offer on the issue of missing persons, as well as the further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries, during their meeting on Wednesday.
In a statement after the meeting, Photiou expressed the belief that the UK can play a different role due to the good relations it has with Turkey, adding that the issue of the missing persons is a humanitarian and not a political one which has caused a lot of pain to the relatives over the years.
“This is the time for Turkey to cooperate on a completely humanitarian issue, to provide information from the Turkish army’s archives on the large mass graves of our missing persons and the movements of the remains,” he said in this regard.
Photiou also told Siddiq that the concern is not only for the Greek Cypriot and Greek missing persons, but also for the Turkish Cypriots, because the pain is the same, and he expressed his satisfaction that the High Commissioner himself will try to support this effort with great sensitivity.
The Presidential Commissioner also informed the British High Commissioner about the problems recorded with regard to the internally displaced persons and schools in Rizokarpaso, while they also discussed Diaspora issues, given that the United Kingdom is the country with the largest Cypriot expatriates, informing him about the activities of the community and the cooperation between Cypriot expatriates and British officials.
Concluding, Photiou said that the cooperation with Siddiq will continue and wished him all the best in a difficult period with what is happening in the world and in the region, as he has a very important role to play as High Commissioner of a large country like the UK.
For his part, Irfan Siddiq said that he discussed a full range of responsibilities, such as the Diaspora, the missing persons, the enclaved communities and religious minorities, adding that it is clear that there are many areas in which the two sides can cooperate.
“The humanitarian needs in terms of the families of the missing persons are well understood and we will do what we can to encourage proper action from a humanitarian perspective to resolve this,” he noted.
The High Commissioner added that “we also continue to work together to ensure that the Diaspora communities can be a positive and active tool for supporting cooperation between our two countries, which is at a great level, and we look forward to continuing that cooperation.”
Asked about any particular actions contemplated in terms of the missing persons’ issue, Siddiq reiterated the Presidential Commissioner’s request for the UK to use its good relations to encourage Turkey to provide access to the military archives so that they can provide more details and opportunities to recover remains.
“I will do all that I can to pass on the request, but I think we need to be realistic of what the response might be,” he concluded.