President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades today addressed the proceedings of the European People's Party Summit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
In his speech, President Anastasiades said, among other things, that "we stand by Ukraine and its people and we will continue to do so for as long as necessary".
He also stressed the need for global implementation of the sanctions taken against Russia to have a successful outcome, noting that, unfortunately, these efforts are being obstructed by some countries.
He also stressed the need to focus on diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukrainian issue.
The President of the Republic underlined that "the Ukrainian wound" echoes what Cypriots have experienced, drawing parallels between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Moscow's pretexts to justify the invasion were used by Turkey to invade Cyprus, he said.
"Since then and despite our efforts and a number of UN Security Council resolutions, Turkey has not only failed to engage in efforts to reach a lasting and viable political solution in line with the resolutions, but instead is creating a fait accompli at sea and on the ground.
Cyprus and Ukraine are European problems and we are well aware that we cannot build the Europe we want and deserve unless these revisionisms are ended."
Finally, he said that "as President of a country that has been divided for 48 years, I am in a position to say that the security architecture of Europe and the sense of security that we can offer our citizens is the most urgent issue for each and every one of us."
The President of the Republic is accompanied to Rotterdam by the Government Spokesman Mr Marios Pelicanos and the Deputy Minister to the President Mr Kyriakos Kousios.
(PM/MG/SX)
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