From the floor of the UN General Assembly, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to work together guided by a vision of peace and build a brighter future for their countriesthrough dialogue and respect for international legitimacy.

In his speech today at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the Cypriot president further emphasized that “as the Security Council has decided, it is time for the UN to become a driving force for dialogue, appointing, as a first step, an envoy for the Cyprus issue, to explore and prepare the ground for the resumption of negotiations.”

He underlined that he is committed to negotiating a settlement “that will preserve the fundamental freedoms and human rights, the interests of all my Cypriot compatriots — Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latinos — all on an equal footing.”

“A comprehensive arrangement that will allow them to prosper in conditions of coexistence and peace, without anachronistic dependencies and a system of guarantees that have no place in a European country,” he added.

“That’s the reason why it is necessary to resume peace negotiations based on the agreed frameworkpreserving the achievements of the previous round of negotiations,” he said.

He noted that working for peace in Cyprus is his absolute priority and he wants to seize this opportunity to send a personal message to President Erdogan.

“There is, and never will be, another basis for the settlement of the Cyprus issue than that dictated by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Dear Mr. Erdogan, the illegality resulting from the invasion, the aggression and the use of force cannot be recognized,” he underlined.

President Christodoulidis said that “The United Nations and the Secretary-General have a responsibility, as defined by the United Nations Charter, to act as catalysts for peace in Cyprus.”

He pointed out that “this effort of theirs can be supported by the European Union, which also has the necessary tools, and which has expressed its commitment to contribute, so as to reunite its last divided member state”.

He indicated that “in the absence of a peace process and process in Cyprus, there is a serious risk — a risk we have seen materialize in the recent past — of further violations of international law, which create instability, and with ramifications far beyond Cyprus.”

“We have seen Turkish military forces commit further violations in Varossia, the walled-off area of ​​Famagusta. Since 1974, Varosia has been held hostage and has become a ghost town, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions calling for its return to its legal residents, who left their livelihoods, their dreams and their hopes between those fences,” he said.

As he noted “we have seen it happen in our maritime zones and we have seen it more recently in the dead zone, where attacks against UN peacekeepers by Turkish forces have horrified us and warned us once again of the urgency of peace in Cyprus”.

“This is why the resumption of negotiations, based on the agreed framework, is my absolute priority. The current status quo cannot be the future of Cyprus. It cannot be the future of Cypriots,” he stressed .

He said that as President of Cyprus he believes in peaceful coexistence because despite the fact that he grew up in a divided country, he also grew up in a country full of hope for reunification, with stories of all Cypriots living together in peace, united by the land they share .

He pointed out that “Cyprus and Turkey are neighbors, connected by their geographical location. Peace in Cyprus will not only send a resounding message of peace to a region and a world that desperately needs it. It will also change the geopolitical map of our region , with implications for Europe, the wider Eastern Mediterranean and EU-Turkey relations. Gun diplomacy and bully tactics are a thing of the past. These are not the means used by visionary leaders. This is our time to bring A United Nations charter to life, a charter for peace for all,” he noted.

He underlined that “no one has to gain from conflicts and divisions”, to note that “we, and the generations that will come after us, have to gain from dialogue, from good neighborly relations.

“Mr. Erdogan, let us work together guided by a vision of peace. Let us build a brighter future for our countries through dialogue and respect for international legitimacy,” he said.

He pointed out that “I am here today with a clear purpose and with determination: the only effective means of dealing with this risk of instability created by the absence of a peaceful path is to create such a path, to promote dialogue, through which the positions and the concerns of all parties can be addressed and discussed in good faith.”

“I am ready to negotiate boldly and courageously on the Cyprus problem, in good faith, always within the agreed UN framework and in full respect of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions calling for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as defined from the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. At a time when international legitimacy is under attack, international law, the resolutions of the UN Security Council must prevail”, the President of the Republic of Cyprus underlined.