President of the Republic Demetris Christofias has held Monday two separate telephone conversations with his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias and Greek Prime Minister Loukas Papademos, with whom he exchanged wishes for the new year.

According to an official press release, during their telephone conversations the two sides reaffirmed the close cooperation which exists between Cyprus and Greece as well as their excellent bilateral relations.

Both Papoulias and Papademos reiterated Greece`s support towards Cyprus and towards President Christofias` efforts to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem that would free Cyprus from the Turkish occupation and would lead to the reunification of the island.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and since then occupy 37% of the island’s territory. UN – led talks are underway between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus with an aim to reach a solution that would reunify the island under a federal roof. The Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state since 2004.