The current situation in Cyprus is dangerous and cannot be permitted to continue, Defence Minister Vassilis Palmas said on Sunday in Greece.

“Turkey’s aggressive ambitions in the geographical area of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean cannot be tolerated by the international community,” Palmas said.

Speaking at events honouring the memory of Eoka fighters, Palmas listed the adverse conditions impacting Cyprus, including its division and occupation by Turkish troops, ongoing illegal settlement in occupied areas and systematic attempts to alter their Greek character, and Ankara’s provocations through seeking alteration of the internationally agreed framework for solution.

The minister added that the Republic, under President Nikos Christodoulides and in “full coordination with Athens”, had been undertaking initiatives to break the deadlock and resume talks.

Addressing the search for missing persons, Palmas called it the “most painful aspect” of the Turkish invasion and urged the international community to exert “maximum pressure” on the occupation authorities and Turkey “to assist more effectively in efforts to resolve the painful drama” affecting thousands of Cypriots.