The Cyprus problem can be solved only on EU terms, says Greek President

The European Union, its institutions and its leaders are realising that the solution of the Cyprus problem can and should be achieved only on EU terms, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Wednesday during a meeting with Cypriot House President Yiannakis Omirou.

Welcoming Omirou in his office, Pavlopoulos said the solution of the Cyprus problem could be reached on terms that safeguard Cyprus` smooth course within the EU and the euro area. Anything that would undermine this should be excluded, he said.

Omirou said a settlement should abolish the anachronistic guarantees of 1960 and safeguard the human rights of all Cyprus` lawful inhabitants as applies to citizens of the EU.

“Our message to all those stating that a Cyprus settlement is imminent, is that it would be more constructive to turn to and convince Turkey to abandon its traditionally intransigent approach on the Cyprus problem and to reconcile with the idea of such a settlement,” he said.

“Apart from rhetoric in favour of a settlement by Turkish officials, we have not yet seen signs that Turkey will accept the need for a proper, viable and democratic solution to the Cyprus problem,” he added. (CNA)

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.