There is no other option to reunite Cyprus and secure the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation troops but through dialogue, President Nicos Anastasiades stressed here today, adding that “this is the only recipe which I believe will benefit the people.”
Speaking at a memorial service for those killed in the summer of 1974 from the community of Handria, the President said that “if we want to live in peace and jointly be creative, we have to set out the prerequisites which will enable us to say that we have a European state, without discrimination against any of its citizens.”
He pointed out that to achieve this goal, unity has to prevail and people have to put aside party objectives for the good of the country.
“Apart from the dialogue, there is no other alternative if we want to secure a country without occupation troops and without barbed wire that divides it. This is the only recipe which will benefit Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Any other recipe will merely perpetuate insecurity and uncertainly and it will not allow this country to exploit to the full its capabilities,” the President said.
Referring to the Turkish Cypriots, he said that only through a solution they will be able to rid themselves of Turkey`s crutches and highlight their own identity and capabilities.
“The prospects are there, all we have to do is exploit them,” he noted.
Today, he pointed out, “there is an opportunity before us. I am not saying that there will not be another chance but nobody can be sure under what circumstances. Now at least, conditions allow us to hope that through the current efforts and unprecedented EU involvement we will be able to protect human rights, the unity of our country, freedom of movement and settlement, the right to buy property and work throughout Cyprus.”
“These days we are trying to specify the areas where there is understanding so that we these can be turned into convergences. This is no mean task because the devil is in the detail,” the President added.
The solution, he stressed, must comply with international law, European values and principles and EU law.
“Cyprus must have a single sovereignty, one international personality and a single citizenship. The solution must first and foremost ensure that Turkey`s occupation troops withdraw from Cyprus, must end the island`s division and allow all Cypriot citizens to live together in a prosperous homeland. The country must be a modern European state, which is functional and viable and stable,” he said.
Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. The President is engaged in peace talks with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mustaf Akinci to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country.