With messages relating to the Cyprus issue, European defence and the coordinated course of Greece and Cyprus, House President Annita Demetriou concluded her two-day official visit to Athens. The visit was her first since her re-election as Speaker and took place at the invitation of the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Nikitas Kaklamanis.
“Our efforts during this period are focused on the momentum surrounding the Cyprus issue, but also on the issues and challenges we are called upon to manage at the European level. We hope that we will see the momentum that can secure genuine progress on the Cyprus issue,” she said, among other remarks, during her address yesterday to the Hellenic Parliament.
On Monday, Demetriou met with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, with whom she held extensive discussions on the Cyprus issue, as well as broader international and regional developments. She then addressed the Athens Defence Conference, organised by ELIAMEP and the Delphi Economic Forum, highlighting the importance of defence and security for a partially occupied state.
Face-to-face with Mitsotakis
Demetriou was subsequently received by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion, where the Cyprus issue ahead of the upcoming enlarged meeting, Greece’s support for Cyprus and the coordinated approach between Athens and Nicosia were at the centre of discussions.
“You are visiting at a critical moment, when there is once again meaningful movement on the Cyprus issue, and I am very interested in hearing your views, since it is our duty to remain fully coordinated, as we have been throughout all these years,” Mitsotakis said as he welcomed Demetriou.
Address to the Greek parliament
Cyprus paid a heavy price for the absence of parliamentary democracy in Greece, Demetriou said, stressing that a Greece with a strong parliamentary system is for Cyprus a matter of security and a condition for survival, as she stated in her address to the plenary session of the Hellenic Parliament.
She made special reference to European defence, saying that “it is inconceivable for European money allocated to armaments to end up strengthening a country that maintains occupation troops on European territory”, and stressed that the participation of third countries in European defence mechanisms is a matter of security, solidarity and credibility.
At the same time, she sent a message to Turkey that it has more to gain from cooperation and respect for international law than from aggression, threats and a policy of faits accomplis.
Cyprus EU presidency
Her speech coincided, as she noted, with the completion of Cyprus’ second Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Demetriou also referred to the Great Sea Interconnector, electricity interconnections, the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor and the ability of Greece and Cyprus to function as the region’s energy and geoeconomic hub.
She also raised the need for a common space for education, research and innovation.
Concluding, she stressed that Greece and Cyprus are called upon to pass on to future generations a stronger Greece, a safer Cyprus, a more cohesive Europe and a more peaceful Eastern Mediterranean.
Meetings with political parties
Yesterday, the Speaker also held contacts with representatives of Greek political parties, including PASOK, SYRIZA and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).
She met a PASOK representative due to the absence of Nikos Androulakis from Athens, as well as KKE Secretary-General Dimitris Koutsoumbas and SYRIZA President Socrates Famellos.
According to information from her office, the meetings highlighted Greece’s steadfast support for Cyprus and the excellent cooperation between the two parliaments in international forums.
