Greece’s Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said on Wednesday that the country will continue to support efforts for a viable solution to the Cyprus problem.

He added that Greece will also continue pointing out that the issue is that of occupation of an EU independent state.

In a post on X for the 50th anniversary since the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Dendias said that Greece continues to “stand by the Republic of Cyprus. We honour our Greek and Cypriot brothers who fell while on duty, the missing, and those who defended the island’s freedom”.

“We do not forget,” he said, adding that “we continue to support the effort for a just and viable solution of the Cyprus issue, while also highlighting to the international community that this is primarily a matter of the occupation of an independent state and an EU member state”.