Turkey continues to pursue an intransigent policy with regards to Cyprus, while Ankara`s approach does not allow for a Cyprus solution, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said today.

Speaking during a memorial service, in a village in the Nicosia District, Stephanou noted that Ankara “is aiming with this stance to consolidate the fait accompli of the occupation” of the island’s northern third, while allowing time to pass by in an unproductive manner.

The Government Spokesman continued by saying that Turkey strives to materialize this goal though the illegal colonization of the occupied areas, altering thus the island’s demographics and especially the composition of the Turkish Cypriot community, which is an integral part of the Cypriot people.

He added that the Turkish occupation forces usurp Greek Cypriot property and destroy cultural and ecclesiastical monuments that are reminiscent of the Cypriot owners of this land.

Despite all problems and obstacles, Stephanou went on, “we will continue the fight to achieve a solution”. He added that Cyprus is dedicated to a solution on the basis of UN resolutions, which provide for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, with political equality as described by the UN, as well as one state, with a single sovereignty, nationality and international personality.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. A new round of peace talks started on September 2008 to find a negotiated settlement that will reunify the country, under a federal roof.

Following the island’s invasion, Anatolian settlers have been brought into Cyprus by Ankara, under a deliberate and systematic policy aiming at altering the demographic character of the Republic of Cyprus and creating a new political and social reality in occupied Cyprus.