The status quo is not a solution for Cyprus, Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides has said.

Christodoulides, who is in Berlin for a working visit, was replying to questions after a speech he delivered at the Conrad Adenaouer Foundation, on Tuesday.

“The current status quo is not a solution in Cyprus. We want Turkey to leave from Cyprus and the status quo wants Turkey to remain there,” he said.

Christodoulides also said that Germany`s partition is not comparable to that of Cyprus, since in Cyprus there has been an invasion and occupation of its territory.

Referring to Turkey, the Cypriot FM stressed that “Turkey`s role in the region is destabilising,” adding however that “Turkey will always be our neighbour. That that is why we want to resolve our problems with Turkey.”

He further added that Turkey`s actions regarding the immigration problem have been very clever.

On Germany`s role, he noted that German officials always bring up the Cyprus problem in discussions with their Turkish counterparts.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Numerous UN-backed negotiations, aiming at reuniting the island under a federal roof, have failed to yield results. The latest talks under UN aegis took place in the summer of 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans – Montana.