Cyprus is an EU member state and an EU member state cannot be divided, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said, reaffirming Greece’s support to a fair and sustainable solution, based on the decisions of the UN Security Council and the EU acquis .
In an interview with state broadcaster ERT in Greece, Sakellaropoulou said that the Cyprus issue and the fiscal crisis are the biggest failures of the postcolonial period in the country.
She noted that as long as the Cyprus issue is open, Hellenism will never be able to feel restful.
Sakellaropoulou also send a message of optimism for the future of Greece, on the occasion of the completion of 50 years since the restoration of democracy.
In mid-July 1974 Dimitrios Ioannidis, the head of the military police ordered a coup to overthrow Cyprus’ leader, Archbishop Makarios III. Makarios survived, but the move triggered an invasion of the island by Turkey on July 20th.
The restoration of democracy in July 1974 signaled a turning point in Modern Greek political h
istory. When the military regime that had ruled the country since 1967 collapsed, a transitional period began with the formation of a “national unity” government under Konstantinos Karamanlis.
Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks to reunite Cyprus under a federal roof have so far failed to yield results.
The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency