The close coordination Greece-Cyprus to counter Turkish provocativeness, is expected to be at the centre of the Foreign Minister's contacts today, Nikos Dendias in Nicosia, one day after the 47th anniversary of the Turkish invasion in the Megalonga island and the announcement by the Turkish side to declassify part of the enclosed area of the Varosha.
In a telephone conversation on Tuesday afternoon with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, Nikos Dendias expressed Greece's solidarity with the Cypriot people and government.
Afterwards, Nikos Dendias informed the US Assistant Secretary of State by telephone, Victoria Nuland, on the illegal Turkish actions in Varosha.
In addition, the Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued yesterday, condemns in the strongest terms the announcement by the Turkish side on the declassification of part of the enclosed area of Varosha and called on Turkey to respect the relevant decisions of the Security Council. This announcement is a flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992). UN, as well as the Conclusions of the European Council, which call on Turkey to refrain from unilateral and provocative actions that destabilise the region, notes and underlines the need to preserve the status of the enclosed area of Varosha, calling on Turkey to respect the relevant Security Council resolutions, such as 550 (1984), 789 (1992) and 1251 (1999).
At the same time, it assures that Greece, in full coordination with the Republic of Cyprus, remains committed to the resolution of the Cyprus on the basis of a a bizonal bicommunal federation, as defined in the relevant UNSC Resolutions and is compatible with the principles of the European Union. «Principles that we call on the EU candidate country, Turkey, to respect», it clearly states.
The Foreign Minister's visit to Cyprus is part of his support for efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the European acquis, namely a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
In Nicosia, the Foreign Minister is expected to be received by the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades. Afterwards, he will meet with his counterpart Nicos Christodoulides, as well as with Mayor of Famagusta, Simos Ioannou. Around 14:00, the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Cyprus will make joint statements.
Earlier, Nikos Dendias will go to Israel, where he will meet his new counterpart Yair Lapid. The talks are expected to focus on further strengthening the already excellent cooperation between Greece and Israel in all sectors, multilateral cooperation schemes in the region, as well as developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the wider region of Middle East.
