Anastasiades: The use of weapons will mean the end of Greek-Cypriots

Any attempt to use military means to resolve the Cypriot issue will mean the end of Greek-Cypriots on the island, President Nicos Anastasiades has said, according to a short excerpt from a news show that will be aired in the country on July 1.

“If we consider that we can provide a solution militarily, through militarization, this will be the end of Cypriot Hellenism, which is something I do not want,” he told Cypriot channel RIK.

“This is not a note of pessimism or surrender, quite the opposite. You have to know the facts if you choose weapons,” he added, noting that the only “weapons” used by the Republic Cyprus is diplomacy.

Anastasiades said the restoration of trust is a crucial factor for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.

Trust is built, he said, when the numerically smaller community does not try to impose itself on the larger one, “when the solution or the provisions of the solution bring about a functional state and do not create uncertainty that it might all fall apart the next day.”

Time is passing, Anastasiades went on, because Turkey’s claims, and not those of the Turkish Cypriot community, are being tabled as prerequisites.

At the same time, Anastasiades said during the interview, Turkey is transforming the north into a protectorate through the establishment of bases, demanding guarantees, and through its “invasion at sea” which undermines the interests of the Turkish Cypriot community, he said.

Bolstered EU solidarity

Anastasiades referred to the regional geopolitical threats and instabilities, as well as visit of the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell late on Thursday.

“The presence of Mr Borrell here reaffirms that our European partners are troubled by how and through which means it will be possible for them to act in order to avoid an undesirable crisis in a region that falls within the borders of the EU,” Anastasiades said.

During his tete-a-tete with Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace on Thursday night, Borrell affirmed the EU’s commitment to continue defending the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in view of Turkish provocations, which are censured by the EU.

“Cyprus’ concerns are the EU’s concerns,” Borrell had said, sending a strong message of solidarity from Nicosia.

Borrell highlighted that the exploration and exploitation of natural resources within the Cyprus EEZ fall under the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, as backed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“The EU will continue to send clear messages to Turkey to respect international law, in this way applying pressure for the immediate termination of Turkish violations,” Borrell said Wednesday, noting that he relayed these specific messages to Turkey himself.