Annita Dimitriou took part in the first parliamentary summit of the International Platform for Crimea.
The president of the Cypriot House of Representatives, Annita Dimitriou, participated in the first parliamentary summit of the International Platform for Crimea, held in Zagreb at the invitation of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Croatia and Ukraine.
The purpose of the session was to establish and promote the parliamentary dimension of the Platform for Crimea. The session was occupied by issues related to the priorities of the platform, which aims to restore international legitimacy to the illegally occupied by Russia Crimean Peninsula and bring it back under the control of Ukraine.
In her intervention, the Speaker of the Cypriot Parliament condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reaffirmed the unwavering support of the Republic of Cyprus to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders. In this regard, he noted the resolution unanimously approved by the House of Representatives, on the first day of the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
Cyprus, underlined the Speaker of the Parliament, which was invaded by Turkey in 1974 and is still experiencing, after 48 years, the consequences of the continued occupation of part of its territory by Turkey, knows very well how traumatic an experience war is and its consequences. Therefore, he stressed, he has an additional reason to stand by Ukraine and its people, on the basis of the same principles that have been flagrantly violated in Cyprus, as is now happening in Ukraine, and will continue to do so in every possible way, despite the fact that Cyprus did not receive similar international support.
Based on these principles, the Speaker of the Parliament pointed out, the Republic of Cyprus has unequivocally condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol in 2014, which is against international law and produces no legal effect.
The Republic of Cyprus, noted the President of the Parliament, from the first moment did what was necessary and fully aligned with the decisions of the European Union (EU) to impose restrictive measures against Russia. Cyprus, Ms. Dimitriou said, condemned the illegal declaration of Crimea, adopted joint declarations based on the principles of international law and assures once again of its readiness to offer all possible help and support to Ukraine and its European path .
At the same time, as parliamentarians, Ms. Dimitriou emphasized, we have a responsibility to protect democracy and legitimacy. We have a responsibility to ensure that all cases of flagrant violations of international law are treated equally by the international community, regardless of who the offender is.
Our position is clear and unwavering: no change of national borders with the use of military force and no unilateral act of secession can ever be accepted, stressed Ms. Dimitriou.
Concluding, the Speaker of the House reaffirmed the full solidarity of Cyprus and its Parliament in the just struggle of the Ukrainian people and its readiness to contribute, in every possible way, to the collective efforts to provide assistance and support to Ukraine.
To the intervention of Ms. Dimitriou, the Turkish MP, Ahmet Yildiz, reacted, who claimed that these are different cases, put forward Turkish allegations against the Greek Cypriot side and called the references to the Cypriot issue in the present Synod inappropriate. Taking the floor, the Speaker of the Parliament underlined that no country has the right to invade a sovereign state and that 50,000 Turkish occupying troops are still illegally stationed in Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot side wants the resumption of negotiations as soon as possible to resolve the Cyprus problem in accordance with international law, Ms. Dimitriou stressed, and if we all want to work for peace, no country should interpret international law arbitrarily and as interests dictate her, he concluded.
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