During a speech to outgoing US President Barack Obama, President Pavlopoulos said that a viable solution in Cyprus would mean no obsolete guarantees, no occupation armies and no confederate system, because any of these would violate EU laws.
“We should also not forget that the solution of the Cyprus issue that does not respect those facts would create a very negative precedent for the existence and the sovereignty of every member state. This is primary European role rule and this precedent could put at risk all of the individual member states,” said President Pavlopoulos.
The Greek president also made a pointed reference to Turkish premier Erdogan’s claim that Turkey’s borders lie beyond what was agreed after WWI with the Lausanne Treaty.
“Any dispute of the Treaty of Lausanne is inconceivable and unacceptable since it would be a blatant violation of international law, for which the treaty was fought, and would undermine not only the borders of Greece, but also of the European Union, since the borders of the European Union, Mr. President, are the borders of individual member states,” said Pavlopoulos.
Obama avoided mentioning Cyprus directly in his response. Instead, he commented that Greece’s relationship with NATO is very important for counter-terrorism, and praised the country for going through its recent tough economic times while staying hospitable to refugees flooding in from Syria and Turkey.
“Whether it’s dealing with terrorism, addressing some of the challenges that are occurring in the Middle East, hosting our naval vessels, cooperation in the Aegean Sea, the strong NATO relationship between the United States in Greece is of the utmost importance,” said Obama.
Obama arrived in Greece on November 15th on the last foreign trip of his presidency. President Nicos Anastasiades is en route to Athens to meet with the outgoing US president.
Turkey has occupied Cyprus since 1974, enforcing a communal and political split between the Greek-and-Turkish Cypriots, whose leaders are currently negotiating a reunification deal aimed at a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal republic.
Click here to read the full transcript of the presidents’ speeches in Athens.
