President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriacos Mitsotakis announced on Monday that their governments will institutionalise a coordination body, as a new chapter in Athens and Nicosia relations.
Aside from the supreme intergovernmental cooperation council, Mitsotakis said that he supports Christodoulides’ proposition to have the EU more involved in solving the Cyprus issue.
Mitsotakis said that Christodoulides assumed his duties at a very difficult period of geopolitical volatility with overt revisionism.
“The mobilisation of Greece and Cyprus is necessary more than ever before. We stand together in the upcoming European Council,” Mitsotakis said, underlining his country’s readiness to continue the fight for the common vision of resolving the Cyprus issue based on the decisions of the UN and the bizonal bicommunal federation.
Christodoulides underlined that his visit to Athens goes beyond its symbolic dimension as it takes place at a time when the two countries have to face common challenges both in the region and in their European family.
“I informed Mitsotakis about the need for more active involvement of the EU in the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue. We know very well that the facts are not easy, but we strongly believe that the current situation cannot be the solution to the problem,” Christodoulides said.
The two leaders had a private meeting followed by extended talks by the delegations of the two sides.
Earlier, Christodoulides began his meetings in Greece with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, with whom he discussed the Cyprus problem, bilateral relations and regional issues.
Christodoulides informed Sakellaropoulou about his upcoming meetings with UN Assistant Secretary-General Rose Marie DiCarlo, who will be visiting Cyprus this week.
The two also discussed strengthening Cyprus-Greece relations, and how to upgrade their roles in the trilateral cooperations they have with other countries in the region.
Regarding the migration issue, the two said that as frontline countries there needs to be a better way of managing the issue.
The Cyprus issue is a constant concern and top national priority of Greek foreign policy, Sakellaropoulou told Christodoulides.
Christodoulides said that his visit to Greece is both symbolic and essential and stressed that the current situation in Cyprus cannot be the future of Cyprus and Nicosia cannot continue to be the last divided capital of Europe.
Sakellaropoulou also referred to the deadly train accident in Greece a few weeks ago that claimed the lives of many young people, including Cypriot students, and expressed her sincere condolences.
Christodoulides also expressed his condolences to Greece over the train accident.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
