The Prime Minister of Greece addressed an extraordinary plenary session of the House of Representatives
The steadfast and firm aim of the Greek foreign policy is the prevention of legitimization and
the reversal of the consequences of the 1974 Turkish invasion in Cyprus, the Prime Minister of Greece Mr George Papandreou stressed yesterday, speaking before an extraordinary plenary session of the House of Representatives.
“The aim is to
terminate the military occupation and the threat that it constitutes to Cypriot Hellenism, as well as to put an end to the drama of the relatives of the missing persons” he said, and underlined the firm commitment of safeguarding the fundamental freedoms and rights of all Cypriots: their freedom of movement, the reinstatement of their properties and
their right to reside in the whole territory of their homeland. “These firm pursuits can and must be achieved peacefully, in the framework of a comprehensive and agreed solution of the Cyprus problem, a solution that will reunite the island, leading to the evolution of the Republic of Cyprus to a functional and viable bizonal, bicommunal federation, with political equality of the two communities, as defined by the decisions of the UN Security Council, with
a single international personality, a single sovereignty and a single Cypriot citizenship,” he said and added:
“Cyprus chose the inter-communal talks as the method of solution and Greece agreed, excluding other methods, which ignore the lawful Government of Cyprus.
For this reason, my government fully supports the negotiation efforts of President Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, which commenced on 3 September 2008 under the aegis of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
We will not be mere observers in this effort.
In the European Union we promote the benefits of
a viable and functional solution, so that the Cyprus problem will not come back in a new form, which may directly influence the functionality of the European Union itself.
We will also turn to Turkey; of course, not to negotiate the international problem of Cyprus with Turkey, but because I sincerely believe that Ankara has every interest and the potential to allow and to encourage Mr Talat to negotiate a mutual beneficial solution”.
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