The multifaceted contribution of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiades, to the progress of the island, as well as to the ongoing efforts to achieve a fair and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, when he welcomed Mr. Anastasiades to the Maximos Mansion. For his part, Nikos Anastasiades emphasized the close cooperation between Nicosia and Athens in addressing the risks stemming from Turkish revisionism.
Below is the full transcript of the conversation between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the outgoing President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: My dear Niko (Anastasiades), today is a very moving moment for me and for our country, as I welcome you to this place—which is so familiar to you—for the last time in your capacity as President of the Republic of Cyprus.
I would like, from the bottom of my heart—and I believe I speak for all Greek women, all Greeks, and the Greek people as a whole—to thank you for the service you have rendered to your homeland.
You have served as President of the Republic of Cyprus for ten years, and you took office in the midst of a major economic crisis. We know this well, after all, because we, too, have gone through similar—and perhaps even more severe—trials than you. You have managed, however, not only to revive the economy but also to advance your country as a whole on many different levels, and I believe you have every reason to be proud of that.
Unfortunately, there are still issues that you—and we—have not been able to resolve, the most significant of which is the great national wound that is the Cyprus problem. I know, however, that even as a former President of the Republic, when your term comes to a successful end, your heart will always be there, focused on how we can achieve a just, sustainable, and workable solution to the Cyprus problem.
A goal, a purpose you’ve strived for throughout your entire career—even before you became President—and I’m sure it will remain in your heart forever.
Welcome back, I’m sure I’ll welcome you to this office many more times, now not simply as the former President but as a personal friend, and I wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart.
Nikos Anastasiades: My friend, Prime Minister, my Kyriakos—that’s how we’ve come to speak to one another— this is, frankly, an incredibly emotional moment for me as well, because the end is approaching of a political journey that has lasted 43 years, culminating in the last decade.
What I would like to convey is the gratitude of the Greek Cypriot community—and my own personally—toward the government, toward your government, my dear Kyriakos, but also toward the successive Greek governments, because through close cooperation we were called upon to confront—and I believe we did confront—several threats posed by Turkish revisionism, and through diplomacy, and the good neighborly relations that we have demonstrated can be built through the trilateral, quadrilateral, and multilateral alliances we have forged, I believe we have sufficiently shielded the Republic of Cyprus, so that it can negotiate, from a position of strength, a solution that is functional and sustainable in the long term, while also being consistent with the European acquis. This will safeguard not only the Greek Cypriots but also the Turkish Cypriots, thereby contributing to the prevalence of peace and the prosperity of the entire Cypriot people, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
As you well know, a second reason for my presence here today is the practically negligible show of solidarity with Hellenism—with Hellenism in Greece—as evidenced by the construction of the social housing in Mati.
I repeat, this is just one example, because Greece’s solidarity with Cyprus was many times greater and expressed in the same way, whether through sacrifices, blood, or material assistance that supported the Republic of Cyprus.
Having said all that, I want to say one thing: I will continue to be a Greek who cares deeply about the fate of our Cyprus and the fate of our Greece.
I will be there—not in a position of power, but in whatever struggles we are called upon to undertake.
Thank you.
Subsequently, an Intergovernmental Agreement was signed by the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Niki Kerameos, and the Minister of Education, Sports, and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus, Prodromos Prodromou, an Intergovernmental Agreement between Greece and Cyprus on the Mutual Recognition of Academic Degrees, which aims to promote and facilitate cooperation in the field of mutual academic recognition of degrees awarded by universities or institutions of higher education in the Republic of Cyprus and institutions of higher education in the Hellenic Republic.
Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Anastasiades will visit Mati, at the site where work is underway to create a Memorial Park, funded by a donation from the Republic of Cyprus.
