2024 marks fifty years since the events of July- August 1974, during which, the illegal Turkish invasion of the Republic of Cyprus led to the unjustifiable occupation of some 37% of the country’s territory. A decade earlier, in 1964, in order for the intercommunal violence to be prevented, the United Nations Security Council had established the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), a task force which is still present on the island, but was nevertheless unable to prevent the invasion of ‘74, an act that was in direct violation of the United Nations Charter and which forced a third of Cypriots to flee their homes during that year.
The UN Resolutions continue to call on the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities to find an agreed solution to the internal political problem of Cyprus through negotiations within the framework of respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, the speedy withdrawal of foreign troops, the ceasing of any foreign intervention in the affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, and the taking of immediate measures for the return of all refugees to their homes.
Mounting a new effort to achieve a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue, in January 2024, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed María Angela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his Personal Envoy on Cyprus. The Secretary-General has asked Ms. Holguín to assume a good offices role on his behalf.
During his latest meeting with the Envoy in New York (11 July), Foreign Minister Gerapetritis stressed that the solution to the Cyprus issue must be within the framework of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, as well as that Greece is ready to provide its good services in the process of resolving the Cyprus issue.
The day before their meeting, Hellenic Republic President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, welcomed Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus and together attended an event organized by the University of Athens, in commemoration of the 50th tragic anniversary. Earlier that day, the Cypriot President attended a special photo and multimedia exhibition, under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus on the city of Famagusta which, after all these years, remains a European ghost city.
