Greek and Turkish Cypriots should `embrace each other’ — Archbishop

THERE is no reason why Greek and Turkish Cypriots cannot live together in harmony, according to Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Speaking at a press conference at the New York headquarters of the United Nations, the Archbishop said that this had been the way of life on the island in the past and that in his opinion, both sides realised that today “they must embrace each other” once again.

At the same time, however, he said that he had doubts as to whether a bi- zonal, bi-communal federation would be able to provide a viable basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem, maintaining that restoration of human rights would entail the return of refugees to their homes. He added that this would include Turkish Cypriots as well.

The Primate was speaking at the end of his three-week tour of the US. Earlier in his trip, he told the UN Secretary-general that most Turkish Cypriots were in fact ethnically Greek, citing as evidence the fact that many of their villages carried the names of Christian saints.

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