Greece`s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos has said that there is a window of opportunity for the Cyprus problem that cannot be ignored.

Addressing on Wednesday the first annual meeting of “The Ambassadors Circle”, Venizelos noted however that “it should become clear that our guide is international law and the acquis communautaire”.

He also said that the East and South Neighbourhood area of Europe is burdened with various difficult situations. Venizelos referred to the open humanitarian crisis continuing in Syria, the chance for peace in the Middle East which “we might lose” after the collapse of the talks and he also talked about the crisis in Ukraine causing an “unprecedented post Cold War tension in the West and Russia relations”.

Venizelos said that the talks for a solution to the Cyprus issue are the only evident open window of opportunity.

He referred to Greece`s achievements since it started receiving EU assistance for its debt crisis through memoranda of understanding with the Troika, noting that the country is now exiting the economic crisis.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu reached on February 11, 2014, an agreement on a joint statement, which led to the resumption of UN- backed peace talks, with a view to reunite the country under a federal roof.