The government remains firmly committed to the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus issue and to the goal of reunifying the island, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Monday, as he represented President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, at a memorial event in Paphos.
‘The Cyprus problem remains our primary national priority,’ Ioannou said, stressing that the government’s vision is ‘its solution, the liberation and reunification of our homeland.’
He said the Republic of Cyprus was at ‘an important juncture’, seeking to create the conditions for the resumption of negotiations.
‘We do not overlook the difficulties or ignore the obstacles. We have, however, a clear direction and a firm goal: the reunification of our Cyprus,’ Ioannou said, conveying the President’s message.
He added that the aim was to transform Cyprus into ‘a peaceful, modern and European country, a pillar of stability in the turbulent Eastern Mediterranean’, where ‘all lawful residents will shape their common future together.’
Referring to the consequences of the 1974 Turkish invasion, Ioannou spoke of the ongoing occupation, violations of fundamental freedoms and rights, loss of life and the continuing concern over missing persons.
The event at the Archbishop Makarios III Lyceum in Paphos honoured Nikos Kapetanidis, a Pontic Greek journalist, publisher and intellectual who was executed in Amasya on September 21, 1921.
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.