Dialogue is the only option to reach a Cyprus settlement

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 Paphos District, for the National Guard officers and the volunteers who lost their lives during the battles in north-west Tylliria in August 1964, the Minister underlined that the President of the Republic 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 of the Republic is working tirelessly towards this direction, Angelides went on, noting 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 of the Republic need to find us united, more than ever before,” the Minister underlined.

He added that circumstances demand that we set aside our differences. He once again emphasized 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.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island’s northern third. Numerous UN-backed talks, aiming at reunifying the island under a federal roof, have failed to yield any results. The latest round of peace talks that took place at the Swiss resort of Crans Montana ended inconclusively in July 2017.