NICOSIA – Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a meeting with the Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia on Friday, the second day of his visit to Cyprus. During the meeting all issues, including the Cyprus issue, were discussed.

Mitsotakis said he reiterated his full confidence and support for President Anastasiades’ initiatives and expressed a cautious optimism that substantial progress could be made on the basis of the unconditional positions of the Republic of Cyprus.

According to Mitsotakis, the two men also discussed general developments ahead of the European elections and reiterated the certainty that citizens in both Greece and Cyprus will recognise that ND and DISY should play a leading role in a changing European Union.

Referring to the issues of the economy, Mitsotakis said that ND has a completely different view of what steps the country should take in the future, pointing out that Cyprus has taken very important steps for economic consolidation under the leadership of Anastasiades.

“This cannot be disputed if one were to compare Cyprus and Greece, to look at the growth rates, the fact that Cyprus [bonds] are back up to investment grade and borrowing costs for the Cyprus Republic as compared to the performance of the Greek economy. Unfortunately, a great deal of damage has been done to Greece over these four years and it is our obligation to put the economy on a new growth track, which can only be done if we focus on private investment, entrepreneurship and support for quality work,” Mitsotakis said, stessing the importance of the return to Greece of the thousands of young people who have left.