The President of the Republic held a social meeting
with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community
The President of the Republic Mr Nicos
Anastasiades had today a social meeting with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot
community Mr Mustafa Akinci.
The two leaders met at 11 am today, at
the Ledras street check point and walked to the occupied north of the old city
of Nicosia.
President Anastasiades was accompanied
by the Government Spokesman Mr Nikos Christodoulides, the Mayor of Nicosia Mr
Constantinos Yiorkatzis and the Greek Cypriot interlocutor Mr Andreas
Mavroyiannis.
The two leaders sat at a coffee shop in
the northern occupied part of the old city of Nicosia for about 45 minutes.
Later on they walked back together to
the government controlled part of the old city of Nicosia where they sat at an
outdoor coffee shop for about 45 minutes.
In his remarks to reporters there, the
President of the Republic said that “we send a strong message. I want to send
the strongest message that, we shall work tirelessly in order to find a peaceful
solution at the earliest possible. This is the strong message I would like to
convey to both communities, that we are condemned by history (to do this) and
this is our duty. Peace for everyone on this island.”
On his part Mr Akinci said that “I
believe that today is an important day for Cyprus. We very much would like to
give the message of hope because after so many disappointments we need this
hope. But, of course, what we need more is not to create yet another
disappointment.”
He added in jest that “It is believed
that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, we are very good at eating and
drinking but when it comes to business, when it comes to the negotiating table
we are not as good as we are during eating and drinking. So, we need to prove
the opposite.”
Mr Akinci
noted that “I want to add another sentence, a very simple sentence: We had a
very good beginning, but what is more important is to proceed even better and to
reach our final goal even much better. So I want to convey my best wishes to the
Greek Cypriot community that we are determined and we have the political will
and the shared vision to finally see and achieve better days for our younger
generations.”
