The President of the House of Representatives Yiannakis Omirou has stressed that Cyprus will defend its national sovereign rights as well as Greece’s rights, within international law.

Omirou made this statement in his remarks to the press after a meeting here Tuesday with the Vice President of the Greek government Theodoros Pangalos.

Pangalos received Omirou on behalf of the Greek Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou and they discussed current developments in Cyprus, Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

“We defend the national sovereign rights of Cyprus and Greece within the remit of international law“, said Omirou, adding that “we have never violated international rules whereas Turkey continues to be the troublemaker and the one who violates international law in the area“.

We stand, he stressed, for security, stability, peace and cooperation in the wider region.

Omirou expressed, on behalf of all political parties in Cyprus, the House of Representatives and Greek Cypriots as a whole, support to Greece in the difficult times it is going through, saying that Greece will manage to come out of the crisis.

On his part Pangalos said that “the common denominator of our policy is the insistence on international law principles and the pursuance of the best interests of Cyprus, with the active support of the Greek people, the Greek authorities and all political parties“.

Invited to say if he is worried by recent Turkish threats, Pangalos said that “tension created by the Turkish side has a dimension which in my view does not correspond to real incidents or Turkey`s true intentions“.

“We should be vigilant at all times and follow developments,” he said, adding however that Turkey’s best interests would not be served with further aggression.

The House President also met later with ruling socialist party PASOK National Council Secretary Michalis Karhimakis and briefed him on recent developments as regards the Cyprus problem and recent Turkish threats.

Karhimakis said that the exploration of hydrocarbons by Cyprus and possible alliances as a result thereof may mean that there are positive developments in the Cyprus problem, adding however that efforts should continue within international and European fora for a just solution to be found.