This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received the President of the Republic of Cyprus, His Excellency Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, who subsequently went on to meet with His Excellency Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States.
The Cyprus problem was among the issues, which Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Pope Francis discussed during a private meeting they had on Saturday at the Vatican. In a press release issued after the meeting, the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the resumption of the negotiations on the problem of Cyprus, divided since the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974.
Meanwhile, according to an official press release issued here, Anastasiades and the Pontiff also discussed during their meeting issues regarding inter-religious dialogue, regional developments, bilateral relations between Cyprus and the Holy See as well as cultural heritage protection.
Later on a meeting with the members of the Cyprus delegation took place. Anastasiades was accompanied by his spouse Andri, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides, the Ambassador of the Republic to the Holy See Yiorgos Poullides, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Christos Patsalides and the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President Nicos Christodoulides.
According to the statement issued by the Press Office of the Holy See the Pope and the President held cordial discussions in which they covered a number of topics, including the role of religion in society and the importance of religious liberty. The leaders, it is added, expressed satisfaction with the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
Moreover, the press release noted, “the parties indicated their concern regarding the political instability affecting the region of the Near and Middle East, which leads to great suffering on the part of civilian populations, and shared their hope that the Christian communities in the various countries may continue to offer their contribution to building a future of material and spiritual well-being.”
The press release issued here said President Anastasiades gave to the Pope an icon of Apostle Andreas, who was the First of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ who visited Cyprus during the persecution of the Disciples – noting that a monastery in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus is dedicated to him.
The President underlined the importance of the Monastery as a religious site, for all the people of Cyprus, adding that both Christians and Muslims it, something which proves the important role of religion for peace, co-existence and love among people, as well as the importance of inter-religious dialogue.
Furthermore he said that a project, funded by the Church of Cyprus, the people of Cyprus, including Turkish Cypriots, and the US government, has been undertaken to restore the Monastery.
Pope Francis gave the President a large bronze medal depicting the Angel of Peace, which, as the Pontiff said “destroys in us the demon of war.”
The President noted that “this is what we need right now in Cyprus”.
Later on Anastasiades met the Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and the Secretary for the Holy See`s Relations with States Dominique Mamberti.
As it has been announced, the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot negotiators will visit Ankara and Athens respectively in the last week of February. Andreas Mavroyiannis, the Greek Cypriot negotiator at the resumed Cyprus talks, and Kudret Ozesay, the Turkish Cypriot negotiator, met on Friday at the UN protected area in Nicosia, in the presence of Lisa Buttenheim, the UN Secretary General`s Special Representative in Cyprus.
The negotiators agreed to meet again on Wednesday, 19 February 2014. A meeting took place on the 11th of February 2014 in Nicosia between the two community leaders, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, marking the resumption of the stalled UN-led peace talks. The talks were interrupted in 2012 by the Turkish side when the Republic of Cyprus assumed the EU Presidency.