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- Ελληνικά
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Anita Demetriou attends the European Conference of Speakers of Parliaments of the Member States of the Council of Europe in Dublin
The work of the European Conference of Speakers of Parliaments of the Member States of the Council of Europe, in which the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Anita Demetriou, is participating, began today in Dublin.
The first session of the Conference dealt with the consequences of Russia's armed attack on Ukraine and the role of national parliaments in the reconstruction of the country. In her opening statement, the Speaker stressed that in addition to the war in Ukraine, at the same time, fifty thousand so far Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh are being forced into a mass exodus, fearing ethnic cleansing. Expressing Cyprus' full support to the friendly Armenian people, Demetriou called on the member states of the Council of Europe to address this conflict which has caused a huge humanitarian crisis and instability in the wider Caucasus region.
Armed attacks in violation of the international legal order, Demetriou stressed, are a blow to the multilateral system of principles which we all stand for and must defend. International law and respect for human rights must prevail regardless of who the violator is, whether it is Russia in Ukraine, Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh or Turkey in Cyprus.
Cyprus is too small to remain divided and the Turkish claim for a "two-state" solution in Cyprus will never be accepted, the President of the House of Representatives stressed. Demetriou reiterated the readiness and the sincere will of the Greek Cypriot side to resume negotiations to resolve the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework for a solution and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The President stressed the need for immediate action to relieve and support the victims of the war in Ukraine, especially women and children, who face multiple risks, including sexual violence and trafficking.
Parliaments, she stressed, have an important role to play, both in supporting the most vulnerable groups of the population and in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. In this regard, she referred to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the House of Representatives and the Parliament of Ukraine last April to strengthen cooperation at bilateral and multilateral level. He also noted the active participation of the Parliament in other institutionalised European actions aimed at exchanging best practices on good governance issues and strengthening Ukraine's institutions and European perspective in general. Parliamentary diplomacy, the President of the Parliament noted, can and should make a substantial contribution to Ukraine's reconstruction efforts, opening up prospects for further assistance and support in important areas of action in order to restore, as soon as possible, the foundations of a free and prosperous country.
At the same time, he stressed, every effort should be made to end the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia and Turkish provocativeness in Cyprus. Finally, he called on all parties involved to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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