President working ‘tirelessly’ to restart talks

Cyprus’ president is working tirelessly to overcome the obstacles posed by the Turkish side and create the conditions for the resumption of talks to find a solution to the Cyprus problem, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Sunday.

“The 50-year ongoing occupation, the illegal invasion, the violation of international law, do not leave us to rest,” he said speaking on behalf of President Nikos Christodoulides at a memorial service in Agros.

“We have a duty to do everything possible to end the occupation of our homeland and reunite all its legal inhabitants in a prosperous, peaceful and European country,” the minister said.

“It is with this goal that the president is working sincerely and persistently” to create the conditions for the resumption of talks on the basis of the agreed framework, headed, “as the current state of affairs is not an option for the Greek Cypriot side”.

He said efforts would continue until the goal of resuming substantive talks is achieved, “with the ultimate goal of reaching a definitive and fair solution”.

To this end, Ioannou said, the government is working with the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary General to convince of the justice of our request and bring us to the table of talks.