Dialogue only option to reach settlement says defence minister

Dialogue is the only option to reach a Cyprus settlement, Minister of Defence Savvas Angelides said on Sunday addressing a memorial service at Pachyammos in the Paphos district for National Guard officers and volunteers who lost their lives during the battles in north-west Tylliria in August 1964.

The minister underlined that President Nicos Anastasiades has made it absolutely clear that the Greek Cypriot side is ready to take part in a new round of negotiations from the point they were left off at Crans Montana, on the basis of the Guterres framework, in order to achieve a solution, in line with UN resolutions and EU principles.

The president is working tirelessly in this direction, Angelides went on, adding that the aim is to deliver a free and reunited country to the next generation, with no Turkish occupation troops and divisive lines.

“The new initiative by the Secretary-General and the efforts of the President need to find us united, more than ever before,” the minister said.

He added that circumstances demand that we set aside our differences. He once again emphasised that the Turkish occupation of the island must be terminated, stressing the need for a just, honourable and functional Cyprus solution, without any troops, guarantees or intervention rights.

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.