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Dear President and Members of the UK National Federation,
Mr. High Commissioner,
Members of the community,
Ladies and gentlemen present,
Thank you very much for your invitation. It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be with you today.Cypriots from abroad are an integral part of Cypriot society. You have managed not only to preserve our principles, values and traditions, but also to be role models of hard work and progress for our country abroad.
The dynamic and active Cypriot community in the United Kingdom has made a lasting and substantial contribution to the promotion of issues related to the Cyprus problem, particularly the Cyprus problem. The role of the community in supporting expatriates, particularly those who migrated to the UK after the Turkish invasion, has been important for the economic and social advancement of these people. I warmly congratulate the President and Members of the National Federation of Cypriots, as well as other organised groups of the UK community for their dedication, consistency and perseverance in their efforts to halt Turkey's targeted actions and propaganda to upgrade the pseudo-state to serve its dichotomous and expansionist aims.
Knowing that many members of the Federation are of Cypriot origin, but were not born or raised in Cyprus, it is vital to preserve, despite the geographical distance, and spread the values and unique characteristics that make up our national and cultural identity to future generations. The continuous promotion of this identity, our language and our history and their transmission to new generations of Cypriots around the world must be a top priority of the state, whose support to the diaspora must be continuous and complete.
My present official visit to London, at the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr Lindsay Hoyle, is, may I say, the first of its kind, in return for the first official visit of a Speaker of the House of Commons to Cyprus in February 2022, which was Sir Lindsay's first bilateral visit abroad. This speaks volumes about the close ties between our two countries and our willingness to further strengthen cooperation between us in a wide range of areas of mutual interest.
In the meetings I have had so far, we have discussed Cyprus issues, including issues of particular concern to Cypriots living in the UK.
I have discussed the main ones with your representatives.
I have discussed the main ones with your representatives. In particular, with regard to the naturalisation procedures for Cypriots living abroad, it is an issue of particular concern to the community (and one which I intend to raise with the relevant departments of the Government). It is very important that the Cypriot community in the United Kingdom, like any other diaspora community, continues to have a meaningful involvement in the political life of the country and in the decision-making processes to defend the rights and interests of its members, especially Cyprus, particularly on our national issue.
I want to assure you of the willingness and readiness of all my fellow MPs and myself personally to further strengthen the cooperation of the House with the National Federation of Cypriots in the United Kingdom.
I would like to assure you of the willingness and readiness of all my fellow MPs and myself to further strengthen the cooperation of the House with the National Federation of Cypriots in the United Kingdom. On this particular issue, I have so far sent three letters of concern to Presidents of parliaments and international parliamentary organisations, condemning Turkey's illegal actions in Famagusta and the usurpation of property of Greek Cypriot refugees, through the so-called "Property Commission" and asking them to exert their influence so that Turkey reverses these actions and returns to the dialogue table to resolve the Cyprus problem for the benefit of Cyprus, but also for the benefit of Turkey and the wider region.
To this end, we seek the support of important countries, notably the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, including the United Kingdom, which has a major role in the Cyprus problem and in the efforts to resolve it, as well as our European partners, but also neighbouring and other friendly countries that also have good relations with Turkey, in our efforts to resume the talks from the point where they were suspended in Crans-Montana. Our goal is to achieve a just and viable solution, within the framework of the United Nations, in accordance with international and European law and the relevant UN resolutions. A solution on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, which will reunite the country in conditions of lasting peace, security and prosperity for the Cypriot people as a whole, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins. A solution that will create opportunities, especially for our young people and the next generation, to build a brighter future in their common homeland and make our country a model of peaceful coexistence and progress in the region and beyond.
Unfortunately, so far, Turkey and its subordinate illegal entity of the occupied territories are moving in the opposite direction. We can never accept the Turkish side's claim for a "two-state" solution, which is outside the UN negotiating framework and contrary to the relevant Security Council (UN) resolutions, and which the European Union and the entire international community has explicitly rejected. This would be tantamount to recognition of the fait accompli of the Turkish invasion and occupation.
The Turkish President has embarked on a campaign for international recognition of the pseudo-state, both from the floor of the UN General Assembly and in other regional and international organisations, and has so far succeeded in obtaining observer status for the pseudo-state in the Organisation of Turkic States. We know that it will not stop, because this serves its revisionist and expansionist aims. Turkey is stepping up its aggression against the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and is gradually opening up the enclosed area of Famagusta for commercial exploitation, increasing the militarisation of the occupied territories and tightening its grip on the Turkish Cypriots, while flooding the occupied territories with Turkish settlers and illegal immigrants, who arrive via the Green Line in the government-controlled areas where they seek asylum. Cyprus receives the highest number of asylum seekers compared to its population (6+%) among the EU Member States and this is mainly due to the instrumentalisation of migrants by Turkey.
At the same time, Cyprus embraced 16 thousand Ukrainian refugees who fled to our country, providing them with all the benefits in accordance with the relevant EU Directive. The Republic of Cyprus condemned the Russian invasion from the very first moment and stood by Ukraine on the basis of the same principles that Turkey brutally violates in Cyprus. A country that claims the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine and that refuses to implement the collective sanctions against Russia, thus weakening the sanctions for its own economic and political benefit. The violations of international law in the case of Cyprus and Ukraine are the same. We expect the international community to abandon the logic of two measures and two stations and show the same determination towards Turkey in relation to Cyprus as it rightly does towards Russia in relation to Ukraine.
In these difficult times that our Cyprus is going through, we draw strength to continue to fight for our survival in our land and for a better future for our children in a country where peace and security will prevail.
In these difficult times that our Cyprus is going through, we draw strength to continue to fight for our survival in our land and for a better future for our children in a country where peace and security will prevail. We draw strength from you, because we know that you are tireless companions in this titanic struggle of Cyprus for justice against a stronger and more aggressive neighbour. We are a small country, but our membership of the European Union and our strategic importance as a pillar of security and stability in a highly volatile region is duly appreciated and valued by our neighbours and by powerful actors in the wider world. But the most important element of Cyprus is its people who know how to fight, create and grow, either within or beyond the borders of our small country, making us proud.
Congratulating you again for the very substantial and important work you are doing, I assure you that both I personally and the House of Representatives will always be with you, assisting you in any initiative and action you undertake.
In closing, I would like to refer to the forthcoming events of the Federation and the Intergroup on Cyprus in the British Parliament, on the occasion of the tragic anniversaries of 1974, to wish this to be the last summer that finds Cyprus divided and its people mourning and seeking vindication. Finally, I would like to raise a toast to the fate of our missing persons and those who gave their lives for our Cyprus.
Thank you.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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