Cyprus Minister of Defence Christoforos Fokaides has stressed the need for consensus and unity in the internal front on the Cyprus issue, sending the message that the government will continue its effort for a just and viable solution.

Fokaides, who was addressing a memorial in Larnaca,  said that we all ought to join our forces into a common course with an aim the negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem to have a positive outcome.

“The efforts taken by the President of the Republic and the government, mobilizing the international interest and utilizing the new opportunities created as a result of the important economic prospects in the energy sector, shape the framework for a new national consensus,” he said.

The Defence Minister noted that in this crucial time, we must learn from the past, avoid mistakes and to learn from the faith of our heroes.

“Forty years from the Turkish invasion, we have the duty as never before, to offer hope and vision for the country and our people”, “he said.

He also stressed that the solution should free Cyprus from the Turkish troops and restore and secure the human rights and basic freedoms for all the Cypriots.

“A viable and functional solution that will reunite our homeland”, he said and pointed out that we ask nothing less than the obvious, the rights and the freedoms that all EU citizens enjoy.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.  President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu reached on February 11 an agreement, which led to the resumption of peace talks to reunite the country under a federal roof.