Greece and Cyprus constitute a united, unbroken, and indivisible front, and relations between the two countries cannot and will not be disrupted for any reason whatsoever, said the President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, in her address to the 11th Panhellenic Conference of Reserve Officers, held on Saturday in Athens, on the reorganisation and prospects of the Greek Armed Forces’ reserve system.
Reserve officers are the backbone of the army, the link between active-duty armed forces personnel and the wider reserve of the country’s fighters, the leaders who will guide our army if and when they are called upon to confront anyone who threatens the rights of Hellenism, said Demetriou.
She then made special reference to the hero Grigoris Afxentiou, “a reserve second lieutenant and graduate of the Reserve Infantry Officers’ School, who served selflessly in the Greek army on the northern border of Greece during difficult times and who later went to his homeland, Cyprus, to actively participate in the EOKA national liberation struggle, offering all of us, with his bravery, impetuosity, and above all, his sacrifice, a free homeland.”
‘We live in difficult times. In a corner of the planet that constantly breeds challenges, conflicts, and rivalries. Both Cyprus and Greece are at an extremely critical juncture, both in terms of time and geography. Both Cyprus and Greece are called upon to manage challenges. We are called upon to confront a Turkey that turns away from and violates international law,” she continued.
“That is why we repeat that a country that almost daily creates provocations the Cypriot EEZ, the Buffer Zone, and the Aegean Sea cannot under any circumstances participate in the European Defence and Security architecture,’ she said. Greece and Cyprus must not only insist on this position but we will not deviate in any way, since the policy of double standards and double measures grossly violates European principles and values,” she noted.
“Greece and Cyprus remain pillars of security and stability, defending both international law and legitimacy, principles, and values with which we were raised. Greece and Cyprus, Cyprus and Greece constitute a united, unbroken, and indivisible front, and the relations between the two countries cannot and will not be disrupted for any reason whatsoever,” she stressed.
“Fifty-one years after the Turkish invasion and the ongoing illegal occupation of 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, the liberation and reunification of our homeland is the only way forward. Our goal has been and remains the resolution of the Cyprus issue on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality and the building of a future of peace, security, and stability for the benefit of all Cypriots: A solution that is inconceivable without the unhindered application of the European acquis throughout the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, a member state of the European Union for more than two decades now,” the House President continued.
“In this endeavour, Greece has been and remains our strongest diplomatic asset. Our constant support and our greatest ally. We therefore owe it to ourselves to be prepared to successfully defend everything that our forefathers have bequeathed to us through their struggles and sacrifices. With a unifying discourse far from the divisions, with a national strategy far from populism and personal expediency, with a vision and policies that move the country forward and not backward,” she further noted.
“The reserve forces (officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers) are not only a defensive necessity but also a strategic choice and priority. The reserve, inspired by the ancient values and national code of defending the homeland, is the best response to superior or numerically greater threats and adversaries,” she said in closing.
“We therefore need a qualitatively upgraded reserve force. With ethics, prudence, military skills, and faith in the homeland. A reserve force of trained fighters with high ideals and patriotism. This is what our security requires, this is what our national survival requires. That is why reserve officers are at the forefront and spearhead every transformation of the army’s reserve,” concluded Demetriou.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.