Sakellaropoullou: Cyprus problem prevents peace for Hellenism

“As long as the Cyprus problem remains unresolved, Hellenism cannot feel at peace,” Greece’s president Katerina Sakellaropoullou said on Tuesday in an interview with her country’s national broadcaster ERT.

“Cyprus is a member of the EU, and it is inconceivable for an EU member state to be divided,” she said.

Among several topics discussed during the interview, she also touched upon the Cyprus problem and stressed “the urgent need for a fair and sustainable solution based on United Nations resolutions and EU law”.

Speaking about the 1974 invasion and the subsequent Attila 1 and 2 military operations in July and August, Sakellaropoullou recalled that Greece’s joy at the end of the junta “was overshadowed by the tragedy in Cyprus”.

“The Cyprus problem and the Greek financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 are the greatest failures of the Metapolitefsi (‘regime change’) period,” she said, referring to the period that started from the fall of the Ioannides military junta of 1973-74 to the transition period shortly after the 1974 legislative elections.

During the interview, held at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Sakellaropoulou also reflected on the achievements and challenges of modern Greek democracy.

She spoke about the need for reforms with the broadest possible consensus and addressed the question of whether she would seek a second term as president.

Furthermore, she also touched on several other issues, such as justice, human rights, the climate crisis, and immigration.