“In the current geopolitical environment – especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine – and within the framework of UN programmes, the European Union must certainly contribute to the negotiations on reunification,” the Cypriot President said during his preliminary visit to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After their meeting in a joint briefing.
The Turkish army entered the northern part of Cyprus in 1974, after Greek Cypriot putschists seized power in Nicosia with the support of Athens and wanted to unify the island with Greece.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, was established in the northern part of the island in 1983. Since its accession in 1981, Cyprus as a whole has been represented in the European Union by the Greek Cypriot government.
The last round of peace talks on reunification under the auspices of the United Nations in 2017 failed.
According to Christodoulides, “The European Union has at its disposal the forces and catalytic tools that can lead to a solution based on the joint agreement between the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Turkey and the European Union.”
The President stated that “the Republic of Cyprus is a member of the European Union, and the Cyprus issue is also a European Union issue, and its settlement directly affects the European Union.”
