Stephanopoulos winds up visit with call to Turkish Cypriots

By Jean Christou

GREEK President Constantinos Stephanopoulos wound up his four-day official visit on Sunday, giving assurances that the Cyprus problem remained Greece’s top priority.

Stephanopoulos was accompanied to Larnaca airport on Sunday by President Clerides and other dignitaries.

Before departing, he described his visit, the first-ever official visit by a Greek President since Cyprus gained independence in 1960, as successful.

“The visit was valuable because it helped me understand better the depth of the patriotic feelings of the Greek Cypriots and their determination to continue their struggle until vindication,” Stephanopoulos said.

The Greek President also sent a message of peace and reconciliation to Turkey, which he hoped it would accept.

“It is not possible for Turkey to continue to behave in this way if she wishes to be within the bounds of prudence and respect of basic human rights,” Stephanopoulos said.

He also said he wanted to convey to the Turkish Cypriots that the future of Cyprus concerned both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, “and the happiness of the one community depends on the happiness of the other”.

Stephanopoulos also addressed himself to the international community, stressing how great its responsibilities were towards Cyprus; “because so far there has been a reluctance to take a firm stand concerning a solution to the Cyprus problem,” he stressed.

“I believe the international community has not used its full potential and I would like to urge it to show greater and keener interest in the issue,” Stephanopoulos added, though he expressed gratitude for the efforts of the UN.

Bidding the Greek President farewell, Clerides said the visit was of “tremendous” importance because Stephanopoulos had sent all the right messages in all directions, “to the domestic front, abroad, to the Turkish Cypriots and to all those forces that are interested in a Cyprus settlement.”

Clerides also accepted the Greek President’s invitation to pay an official visit to Greece soon.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.