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- Ελληνικά
The Cyprus Government welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament's Plenary of the Report on Turkey and the adoption of the amendment tabled by Cypriot MEPs, which adds a condemnatory paragraph on Turkish violations and attacks against peacekeepers in the Pyla area.
We attach particular importance to the European Parliament's reference, in paragraph 33, calling for more active EU involvement in the effort to break the deadlock. An approach which is an essential and central element of the initiative taken by the President of the Republic and which can play a decisive role in the efforts to resume negotiations.
The resolution reaffirms the European Parliament's support for efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as set out in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. It calls for the resumption of negotiations where they left off in Crans-Montana and for avoiding actions and provocations leading in the opposite direction, regretting the Turkish disengagement from it by promoting a two-state solution. Furthermore, it condemns actions promoting the separatist regime and calls for the withdrawal of Turkish troops and respect for UN Security Council resolutions. It also condemns the fact that Turkey continues to violate UN Security Council Resolutions 550 and 789, and strongly calls on Turkey to reverse its illegal and unilateral actions in Varosha.
It also calls for respect for the status of the buffer zone and the mission of the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, while recalling that such attacks constitute a crime under international law, and calls on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to reverse such unilateral actions and to avoid actions and provocations that do not contribute to the resumption of negotiations.
The resolution does not fail to mention the need for cooperation to clarify the fate of the missing persons, the protection of cultural heritage and the educational rights of the stranded.
The President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides calls on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to respond positively to the European Parliament's calls for the lifting of the deadlock and the resumption of talks to resolve the Cyprus problem.
Turkey's European course cannot be limited to verbal declarations. If the will for this course is indeed sincere, Turkey must put into practice what it proclaims, respect European principles and values, the resolutions and decisions of the European Union and its institutions.
The vision of the European Union and the principles on which it is based cannot fit into divided homelands. The occupation of Cyprus is an open wound in the heart of Europe, it is a European problem that requires European solutions.
(PM/EP/EXP)
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