Pope Francis on Thursday expressed his support to efforts aiming at the reunification of Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.
 
Addressing the annual ceremony for the exchange of New Year greetings with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican, the Pope stressed the importance of dialogue and respect of international law for the resolution of “frozen conflicts” that persist in Europe “of which some decades-old that need resolution, starting from the situation regarding the Western Balkans and south Caucasus and Georgia.”
 
«In the same context, I would like to express the Wholly See’s support to the negotiations for the reunification of Cyprus, which could increase regional cooperation, favouring stability in the Mediterranean region,” Pope Francis said, according to an official press release, expressing his appreciation over the efforts made for the resolution of the conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine and the ending of the population’s suffering.
 
Expressing wishes for the New Year, the Pope thanked particularly, Ambassador of Cyprus Georgios Pavlides and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps for his cordial greetings expressed on behalf of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.
 
Pavlides has been the Dean of the diplomatic corps since May 2018.
 
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.