In what is being considered very reassuring news for peace in Cyprus, President Nicos Anastasiades recently made a statement emphasizing upon the need for having a united front to counter Turkish intransigence and overturn the current situation in the island country.
Speaking in Nicosia after a religious ceremony which commemorated the anniversary of 28th October, 1940, President Anastasiades said that history can only be written when everyone stays united. He further explained his rather cryptic statement, saying that in order to truly honor the commemorated anniversary, Cyprus must join forces and subsequently confront Turkish intransigence and its effects and finally overturn the sad and painful circumstances that currently exist in Cyprus thanks to Turkish interference.
President Anastasiades was asked regarding the effects of the developments in Spain on Cyprus, to which he confidently replied that the Spanish problem should and does not have any bearing on the situation in Cyprus, especially after the kind of reactions it has received from both Europe and other parts of the world.
Cyprus has been a divided country since 1974, when the Turks invaded and took over the island country’s northern third. It has since been a constant strife and series of negotiations, with the latest round of UN-sponsored negotiations having ended inconclusively in July 2017 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
The anniversary of 28th October, 1940 serves to commemorate the rejection of an ultimatum by Benito Mussolini to Greece’s then Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas. The event marks the start of the Greco-Italian war as well as the subsequent conquering of Greece by the Axis Powers.
