“Our ultimate goal and objective is a viable and functional solution to the benefit of all the legitimate inhabitants of our country, for the benefit of our children,” President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said on Sunday, in a memorial speech at the national memorial service of the hero of EOKA 1955-1959, Charalambos Pettemerides and his heroic wife, Eleni Stylianou Pettemerides, which was held in Nicosia.
President Christodoulides said that “50 years after the barbaric Turkish invasion in 1974, we are at a critical turning point” as regards the Cyprus issue, stressing that “the reunification of our country in peace and the safeguarding of fundamental human rights remains our number one priority”.
He noted that the government has undertaken its mission with full awareness and responsibility and is making immense efforts to break the deadlock. “With concerted efforts, with a clear political will, we have managed to mobilize the international interest, to make the Republic of Cyprus the balancing factor in our wider region and a safe humanitarian corridor”, he pointed out.
He also said that “our struggle and efforts, despite the challenges and difficulties, have led to a new mobility, with the sole objective of returning to the negotiating table”, adding that “we cannot be complacent or give up. It is our duty to fight unceasingly and persistently with all the means at our disposal and in all directions”.
The President of the Republic noted that “our sole objective and pursuit is a viable and functional solution to the benefit of all the legitimate inhabitants of our country, for the benefit of our children.”
On his part, Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said in a memorial speech at the annual memorial service of the EOKA 1955-1959 fighters of the Paphos District, which was held at the Holy Monastery of Saint Neophytos, that President Christodoulides’ efforts to resume negotiations will continue, with deep conviction in the rightness and justice of our claims, with dedication, determination and assertive realism.
“We reiterate our unwavering determination to make every possible effort to break the deadlock and resume negotiations,” he said.
“We are aware of the challenges and the difficulties,” Letymbiotis noted, adding at the same time that “we will never allow ourselves to become complacent, we will never be distracted from the path of international legitimacy and international law.”
“We seek and demand the obvious, through dialogue to find a peaceful, final solution to the Cyprus issue,” he said.
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.
Also read: President Christodoulides in Thessaloniki for commemorative events on Cyprus tragedy
Source: CNA/KP/ZSO/MK
