President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has expressed hope that the foundations will be laid for the resumption of the Cyprus negotiations, stressing that he is working intensively, in cooperation with Greece, to achieve this goal.
Addressing Sunday an event in New York organized by the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations, President Christodoulides said he expects that during the week of the United Nations General Assembly there will be specific developments regarding the Cyprus issue.
“With perseverance and with unwavering determination we have succeeded during these 18 months, with your help, to rekindle international interest in the Cyprus issue”, he told delegates.
“I really hope that this week in New York the foundations will be laid for the resumption of negotiations as soon as possible,” he stressed.
“I truly hope so. This is our goal, through my contacts and the contacts of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the end of the week of the UN General Assembly to have concrete announcements for the resumption of negotiations or at least a joint meeting that can lead to a resumption of negotiations,” the President said.
Furthermore, he noted the importance of supporting the Cypriot diaspora, noting that especially the overseas in the United States, are very important for Cyprus at the political level and stressed that their contribution remains decisive in maintaining international pressure on Turkey and finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.
He also expressed the desire for the diaspora meetings to become an institution saying he considers them important in maintaining the close relationship between Cyprus and Cypriots living abroad.
Referring to the 50 years since the Turkish invasion against Cyprus, he said that “despite the difficulties, the pain, the problems, we did not abandon the effort to reunify our country” and praised the support of the diaspora.
“Fifty years after the barbaric Turkish invasion, our country remains divided, continues to be under occupation, with thousands of displaced, missing, enclaved and with occupied troops. This is the reality in a country, an EU member state,” he said.
The President also referred to the strengthening of relations with the USA saying that since he assumed office, the government substantially strengthened bilateral relations with the United States by signing the Strategic Partnership Framework, saying that the United States has only signed this framework with less than 40 countries, most of which are NATO member states.
In addition, he spoke about Cyprus’ role in the European Union saying that it has been substantially strengthened, highlighting with actions the importance of Cyprus for the European Union, the other Member States and the challenges they face.
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.
