Turkish occupation ‘should finally end’, president says

We do not come to terms with the Turkish occupation of Cyprus, said President Nikos Christodoulides, on Sunday.

He was speaking at a memorial service of Michalis Olympios, an EOKA fighter, who died in 1969. The memorial service was held at the church of Agios Epiphanios, in Lymbia village, in Nicosia district.

“Having as a guide the struggles of the past and the lessons derived from them, we emphatically declare that we do not come to terms with the occupation,” President Christodoulides stressed, adding that “our concern is transformed into a driving force that leads us to a clear will for continuation of the effort to reunify our country.”

In addition, the president noted that “the unacceptable status quo is, among other things, a permanent source of disruption and insecurity and in no way should we be complacent.”

He pointed out that “this twisted situation we are experiencing should finally end.” For us, he continued, “there is no other choice, for us there is no other path, than to end the occupation, to reunite our country and finally bring peace to our land.”

“It is precisely in this context that we consider the leading and active involvement of the EU, both in breaking the current deadlock and during the negotiations to be imperative, and it is in this direction that we have been working since the first day this government assumed its duties,” he emphasised.