During his speech at the ceremony, he spoke of how Matsis was born in the village of Palaichori Morphou which, despite its name, is not near Morphou but is located in the Troodos mountains, and studied agriculture at Aristotle University after enrolling in 1946.

Matsis had connections with the monarchist side of the Greek civil war while in the country, before joining Eoka in 1955. He was killed by a grenade during a gun battle with British forces in the Kyrenia district village of Dikomo in 1958.

Christodoulides announced that the Republic of Cyprus would take on the maintenance costs of the bust and its surrounding area, and said this decision is “an unending act of appreciation and a sign of respect towards an emblematic symbol of the Eoka struggle, which unites Greek Cypriots, as well as the Greek Cypriot community in Macedonia, and in Thessaloniki in particular.”

“On this occasion, I would like to highlight the may years of fraternal ties which connect Cyprus with this leading educational institution in Greece, from which thousands of Greek Cypriots have graduated. This longstanding hospitality is the solid foundation for the further development of these historic ties,” he said.

He added that he will “never forget that during the difficult times Greek Cypriots went through, the people of Thessaloniki, the proud Macedonians, and of course the Greek people as a whole, opened their arms wide to welcome.”

In addition to unveiling Matsis’ bust, Chistodoulides will also visit the Society for Macedonian Studies, where he will speak at an event held to mark the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of the island.

He will then attend a conference at the university entitled “Cyprus and Rome” organised by the Diocese of Kalamaria, the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, and the Central Macedonia regional government.

On Saturday, he will return to Athens to attend an event held by the Elliniko-Argyroupoli municipality and the Pontians’ Union of Argyroupoli, entitled “Ambassadors of Pontic Hellenism”.

There, Christodoulides himself will be declared an “Ambassador of Pontic Hellenism”.

His tour of Greece comes after a meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in which they both heralded the importance of Christodoulides’ meeting with United States President Joe Biden earlier in the week.