Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos’ statement on the 40th anniversary of the coup in Cyprus

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos made the following statement on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the coup in Cyprus:

“Today, the Greek Nation remembers in sadness and sense of conscience the betrayal of the Junta’s coup of 1974 against President Makarios and the legitimate status of the Republic of Cyprus, which we must safeguard as the most precious possession, because our greatest advantage is precisely that: the international legal personality of the Republic of Cyprus as a sovereign member state of the United Nations, as a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone.

I think we are all aware that without democracy and the rule of law, one is driven towards dangerous errors in the field of foreign policy and security and defence policy. The very least we can say, as Greeks, to our Cypriot brothers is that we are in full conscience of the historical burden.

We are one nation, we are always committed to the common goal, which is a just and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, within the framework of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, within the framework of the European Community Acquis. A solution based on the existence of a single international legal personality, a single sovereignty, a single citizenship.

We are talking about a solution that will be accepted by the Cypriot people, who will express themselves directly, in a referendum. And this is an acquis of the Cypriot people that we must also safeguard as a precious possession.”