ATHENS – “Greece will always be at Cyprus’ side for the defence of all that belongs to it under international and European Law,” stated President of Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos during his meeting on Wednesday with the president of the Cyprus House of Representatives, Demetris Syllouris, at the Presidential Mansion.

Pavlopoulos thanked Syllouris for their excellent and productive collaboration over the years and said that Greece supports Cyprus, which is a full member of the European Union, in finding a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus issue. “A solution that, based on European law and the corresponding European acquis, from the start rules out the form of a confederation for the Cyprus Republic and also rules out the perpetuation of the outdated regime of third-party guarantors and even more the continued presence of occupation troops on its territory,” he added.

The president said that Greece supports Cyprus in the defence of its Exclusive Economic Zone, which is also Europe’s EEZ, adding that the Turkish arbitrariness will not be allowed to pass.

On his part, Syllouris also thanked Pavlopoulos for their cooperation and expressed his certainty that their friendship will continue.

He also said that unity and understanding between Greece and Cyprus is necessary, as well as the unity between the political forces, in order to take advantage of the opportunities in the region which are being overshadowed by Turkey’s behaviour.