Two states ‘unacceptable’ , Archbishop tells Samaras

TWO states in Cyprus cannot be accepted, Archbishop Chrysostomos said after a 45-minute meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday.

Chrysostomos told reporters that he had the “joy of hosting the Greek Premier, and, as ever, the Church offered its views because we want this land to survive, and our people to have better days.”

“In the short meeting we had, I noted that Greece and especially [Cyprus] – all of our ambassadors in the countries that are permanent members of the Security Council and across Europe – must convey the message that the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) belongs to the state, the Republic of Cyprus, and its fruits will be enjoyed by the citizens of this state, whether Greek or Turkish or whatever,” he said.

This message needs to be made clear, he added, to all European governments and the permanent members of the Security Council, and they “should in turn pass the message to Turkey that the Republic of Cyprus is here.”

“Of course, they don’t recognise it,” Chrysostomos said. “They talk of two states, that’s what Turkey wants – two states in Cyprus – but that, of course, cannot be accepted.”

Asked whether the issue of the EEZ will form part of the negotiations for a settlement to the Cyprus problem, the Archbishop expressed the belief that “such a prospect is not acceptable by either the Cyprus or the Greek government.”

“I want to believe that we are all unwavering in our resolve that this is unacceptable and that it will never enter the agenda of the negotiations – it will be a most negative development,” he said.