The state stands by its unwavering determination to end the impasse in the Cyprus problem and resume negotiations, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.

Speaking at the annual commemoration of Archbishop Makarios III on Sunday evening, in the late president’s birth village of Panayia, Letymbiotis said that 50 years on it is more evident than ever that the current state of affairs cannot continue.

“This is not the future we want to hand over to our children,” he said, adding there was only one solution, “based on the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, with one sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality, in accordance with the European acquis and the principles and values ​​of the European Union.”

This solution “will dissolve barbed wire and erase the line that marks our country […] the black strip that separates […] souls [and] stands as a barrier between the past and the future, between light and darkness,” the spokesman said.

Letymbiotis went on to reference Makarios’ statement that the struggle was not directed against the Turkish Cypriots, who are also victims of the Turkish invasion.

“We want to expel the invader, in order to redeem the Greeks and Turks of Cyprus,” he said.

The efforts of the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides to restart negotiations will continue, Letymbiotis added, with “undiminished commitment.”

Cyprus aspires to be a model European country that guarantees the human rights of all its inhabitants, based on mutual respect and solidarity, and carve its unique path on the map of world history, he added.

Learning the lessons of history and a collective historical responsibility are needed to offer future generations security, hope and perspective, he said.

“I shoulder today, the heavy duty of referring to an inspirational personality as well as to lessons to be learned from his path. Because just as Makarios left his stamp on our […] history [the memory] of the tragic, criminal events that led to the occupation should also remain indelible, [and] forge the will for reunification and liberation,” he concluded.

The commemorative event was held under the auspices of the president and organised by the association of Panayia diaspora, the Makarios Cultural Centre and the Panayia community council.