The positions expressed by the Greek Prime Minister, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, of Defence as well as by him and all the members of the Government are the Greek position, said on Monday Greek Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis, during a briefing to politics editors on statements of the Turkish President. The Greek government takes a stand on every opportunity, with a single line, with the national position, he said.
Marinakis also referred to the statements of Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Cyprus and noted that it was for the first time that a Greek Prime Minister was ‘present’, in events marking the coup and Turkish invasion of 1974.
He also noted that it was ‘sad’ that media in Greece adopt the Turkish propaganda, and ‘what the other side says for its own reasons, without having heard the Prime Minister’s speech.’
He also reiterated that dialogue did not mean retreat, does not mean naivety, nor ‘the slightest retreat from our sovereign rights’.
Cyprus has be
en 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.
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