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National Unity Urged for Peaceful Solution of Cyprus Issue
Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides Sunday urged the people and political powers of the country to be united in the struggle for a peaceful solution of the Cyprus issue.
In a televised message for the 40th anniversary of the independence of Cyprus, Clerides noted that "we shall never agree to a confederal solution" on the island.
He said that a federal, united, demilitarized Cyprus, incorporated into the European Union, will "serve the vital interests of all, including those of Greece and Turkey."
Cyprus has remained divided into the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island after a failed coup in Nicosia seeking union with Greece.
Four rounds of United Nations-sponsored indirect talks between Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash have been held since last December in an effort to find a way leading to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue.
A fifth round of talks is scheduled to begin November in Geneva.
Denktash has been insisting on the recognition of his breakaway regime in northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, and a confederation of "two equal states" on the island.
Clerides stressed that the Cyprus solution must be consistent with the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, which call for a bizonal bicommunal federation on the island.
He noted that "we shall never accept the present faits accomplis of the invasion, which were caused by Turkey's expansionist strategy."
Clerides said that until a solution to the Cyprus is found, the Greek Cypriot-controlled government shall continue in close cooperation with Greece.
"We shall continue strengthening our defense," he said.
A military parade was held Sunday in Nicosia to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the independence of Cyprus.
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