Christodoulidis: Greece is our support and our selfless ally

Greece is our support and our selfless ally. Our relations will be strengthened even more in all areas, said, among others, the new President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulidis, in his first speech in his new capacity, during the ceremony of declaring him as the President of the Republic of Cyprus at the Tassos Papadopoulos Stadium – Freedom.

As Mr. Christodoulidis pointed out, his first priority is the end of the Turkish occupation and the reunification of Cyprus, noting that he will do everything to show himself worthy of the trust of those who honored him with their vote. Special were his references to all the political parties of Cyprus, as well as his thanks to the outgoing PtD N. Anastasiadis.

The following is the speech of Mr. Christodoulidis:

“Friends, compatriots, people of Cyprus!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the honor you have done me, to elevate me to the highest office of the Republic of Cyprus. I am grateful to you for the trust, for the love, for the support.

I mentally shake all of your hands. I look you in the eye and honestly make a promise: I will do everything to be worthy of your trust. I will spare no effort to realize the vision I have shared with you, to try to create a free country that offers its citizens conditions of security and prosperity. For all citizens, without exception and without exclusion.

The elections are over, the people have spoken. The election campaign belongs to the past. We leave behind what hurt us and what made us bitter. Tomorrow dawns a new day which will find us single-minded and determined to put into practice all that we have promised.

I thank the citizens who honored me with their vote. I thank the political forces that supported our effort. DIKO, EDEK, DIPA, the Solidarity Movement, the Cypriot Hunters Movement, the animal party, the Organizations, the groups and other organized groups and certainly our volunteers who selflessly were with us all these months.

But allow me to pay particular attention to my family, who have been by my side throughout this very difficult journey. I thank my wife, Philippa, my children, all my family members, all those who have been my support.

But I also want to thank the citizens who made other choices. This is the essence of Democracy. I honor and respect them. In the Cyprus I envision there are no “ours” and “others”.

At this point I want to thank all the political forces. I am sending a message of cooperation and readiness to JOIN FORCES for the good of our country, for our Cyprus.

I respect and honor AKEL, the great party of the Left. I respect and honor his leadership, under Mr. Stefanos Stefanos and his people. I also send my unlimited respect to Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis for the nice fight we fought.

I especially want to refer to the Democratic Alarm, its President, Averof Neophytou, the leadership, and its people. During this pre-election campaign, we experienced difficult times, on a political and human level. I want everyone to know that I will not let them down. I have spoken with Mr. Averof Neofytou, I have received his congratulations. I thank him very much and will seek to meet him as soon as possible.

I especially thank the President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis, for the long-term cooperation we have had over the years and the trust he has shown in me, through the positions he has assigned to me.

Friends,

I am deeply moved that we managed to make our pre-election program a majority stream, which we drew up after a dialogue with the citizens, together with the civil society, with all Cypriots and Cypriots, with our young people as well as those fighting for life. This unprecedented effort of participatory democracy, which began before the elections, will continue throughout my presidential term.

I want to prioritize before all of you, as the now elected President, my priorities: My highest concern is the end of the Turkish occupation and the reunification of our homeland. I will do everything to restart the dialogue in order to create the conditions for resolving the Cyprus issue. To find a solution that ensures that we leave to our children a country reunited on the ground, in the institutions, in the economy. A homeland that will respect the rights of all its legal residents, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latinos. We share in their mourning and I want to assure them that we are by their side. I wish to repeat that the current state of affairs cannot be the solution to the Cyprus issue. It cannot be the future of our country. Cyprus cannot be the last crippled state of the European Union.

I have spoken a while ago with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Greece is our support and our selfless ally. Our relations will be further strengthened in all areas.

I spoke tonight with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, with Senator Menendez and other personalities. The European, Western orientation of our country is our stable compass for tomorrow. We will continue to expand our relations with all the countries of the region, but also with all the forces that can play an essential role in solving the Cyprus issue, within the agreed UN framework.

I send a message of unlimited respect to our refugees, our trapped, the victims, the relatives of our missing, all those who suffer from the trauma of the invasion and the ongoing occupation. They remain at the forefront of our effort to end illegality and injustice.

Friends,

I am fully aware of the enormous responsibility, and I will make every effort to live up to your hopes and expectations.

I am ready to take over the governance of the country. I am fully prepared to face the big challenges as well as the important problems of everyday life. I am ready to work to build a future with a horizon TOGETHER. With hope and perspective. For all.

I am determined to form a government of broad social acceptance with capable people from all political spheres. National unity is a historical necessity.

I am focused on the next day for the immediate implementation of concrete actions for the economy, for society, for all the things that you highlighted as priorities. I have completed the preliminary work and have an Action Plan for each Ministry so we can start working immediately.

Compatriots, fellow countrymen

Our goal is to achieve a Society that is inclusive, empathetic and leaves no one behind. To achieve an Economy that will develop with extroversion, that will be durable and competitive.

FOR a flexible, efficient, citizen-friendly State, with transparency, meritocracy, justice and accountability.

FOR a better quality of life, in our cities and countryside, for everyone without exception.

A country that will immediately ensure that it is not an attractive destination for irregular Immigrants.

A State that will essentially support the farmer and the rancher, and that will actually regenerate the primary sector in our country AND revitalize the countryside.

A Cyprus that will be on the side of families and young people in practice, that will give decent pensions and support our vulnerable fellow citizens, offering equal opportunities to all who need special care and support.

A Cyprus that will set the bar high for education and culture, with good public schools and promotion of sports, arts and letters. A Cyprus with quality health services. We will strengthen and improve the NHS, the greatest social achievement of recent years, which ensures equal and universal access to health services for every citizen.

Compatriots!

From tomorrow we take the first step towards better days. With unity, determination, confidence and pride.

You are the winners tonight. TOGETHER we started this journey, TOGETHER we walked and TOGETHER we continue it. I thank you from the bottom of my soul. Thank you for the support, courage and INSPIRATION you have given me in this great struggle.

Cyprus is the winner tonight.

Let’s go strong!

Let’s hope!

Let’s go together. For Cyprus!”

RES-EMP

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