We are ready to start the Cyprus negotiations even tomorrow, President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, has stressed, adding that “our non-negotiable goal is liberation, the withdrawal of the occupation troops and the reunification of our homeland, without guarantors and foreign ‘protectors'”.

“This is my vision and for its realization I will spare no effort and sacrifices”, he stressed in his address on Sunday at the annual memorial service of the EOKA hero, Gregoris Afxentiou, at Macheras Monastery.

He noted that “we have to free our country from the burden of the Turkish occupation that has been going on for 50 years” and underlined that we have an obligation to work with all our strength to hand over a free country to the new generation and an opportunity to live and thrive in conditions of security, prosperity and progress.

“I will exhaust every effort so as to create the conditions for the resumption of the negotiations, for a comprehensive resolution of the Cyprus issue, on the basis of the agreed framework and the principles and values of the European Union,” he underlined.

Furthermore, he said that the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General for Cyprus is expected to return to Cyprus in the next days, adding that her mission was a result of Nicosia’s determination and political will, and noting that “we support (this mission) with all the means at our disposal”.

“We are ready for negotiations even tomorrow, we are very well aware of the goals and the aspirations”, President Christodoulides said.

He stressed that there are difficulties, challenges and problems “as a result of the Turkish stance,  which in essence does not allow the Cypriot people to live freely in their homeland, a country that is a member state of the great European family, the EU”.

The current state of affairs, President Christodoulides said,  “is not sustainable and cannot be the foundation for building a stable and secure future for us and our children”. 

The President pointed out that twenty years after the accession of Cyprus to the EU, “the Republic of Cyprus is now a reliable partner, with active participation in the European process and with absolute commitment to the reunification and the settlement of the Cyprus problem, which will ensure the fundamental rights and be compatible with European principles and values”.

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.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.