It is imperative that the UN create a climate that will contribute to constructive negotiations conducted in good faith, President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou, said on Sunday. A new round of negotiations, she stressed, should be carried out on equal terms, without blackmail, intimidation and threats against any side.

Demetriou said the Greek Cypriot side maintained its firm position regarding immediate resumption of talks with a real prospect of success.

Speaking at a memorial service and the unveiling of a statue of 1974 hero Heraklis Agathokleous, Demetriou stressed that Cyprus’ reunification, return to the territory under Turkish occupation, the two communities’ peaceful coexistence without the presence of foreign armies and without an anachronistic system of guarantees in place, remains our vision and our daily struggle.

The crime committed by Turkey and its army by way of occupation of a European country’s territory, should not and cannot continue anymore, said the President of the House.

She went on saying that the state in general and the Parliament in particular have been working both domestically and in international fora to create conditions that will result in lifting this unacceptable situation.

Turkey, Demetriou said, “was and remains the only one responsible, with its intransigent stance and irrational demands, its intensified destabilizing role, with its adverse interventions in Libya, Syria and Iraq, but also its ongoing violations of the sovereign rights of both Greece and Cyprus”. “Despite our constructive attitude and commitment to the process of achieving a just and viable settlement, Cyprus remains the last divided country in Europe”, she noted.