Mitsotakis says two-state solution in Cyprus cannot happen

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday morning told the United Nations General Assembly that a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem “cannot happen and cannot be accepted”.

In his speech, he made reference to the “illegal invasion and occupation of one third of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus”, and reaffirmed his country’s support for a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution.

Such a solution, he said, must entail “one sovereignty, one citizenship, and one international personality, in accordance with the UN Security Council’s resolutions.”

He then stated his country’s support for negotiations to restart and congratulated Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides for the efforts he has made so far to restart talks.

He also spoke briefly on the improving relations between Greece and Turkey, and called for the delimitation of the two countries’ maritime exclusive economic zones (EEZ) both in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Aegean.

Mitsotakis’ speech comes after Christodoulides had issued a direct message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his own address to the general assembly, telling him, “now is the time to deliver on your proclaimed commitment to international law and to peace” and that “no country that believes in the moral superiority of its position refuses to sit at the negotiating table.”

Erdogan had earlier said the federal model for a solution to the Cyprus problem has “completely lost its validity” and thus called on he UN’s member states to recognise the north as an independent country.