Cyprus president gives message of peace at Independence Parade

President Nicos Anastasiades has said that only through peace can “we hope for better days,” during the military parade being held for Independence Day. The President opened the parade by wishing a Happy Independence Day to all the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, while Greece’s Defence Minister in attendance of the parade said a solution could only happen with the removal of Turkish troops from the island.

The President has mentioned that he was satisfied and proud of the parade put on by the National Guard. He congratulated the Chief of the National Guard, the members of the guard, and the officers of the various bodies taking part in the parade, including the police and the fire service.

Through the evolution of the island after a solution, he added, the conditions will be create, on which all the people, will live together in a modern state that completely respects the values of the EU and UN, far from the weight of the past.

President Anastasiades said: “What is needed is all of our attention to be focused not only on defence or any other plans, equipments, etc, but to arm ourselves with courage to find and meet the goals and road for peace.”

Kammenos: Removal of all Turkish troops a precondition to a solution

On his part, Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos – who represented Greece at the parade – said that the national independence of Cyprus was based on the lives of the heroes that sacrificed themselves. He added that as long as the island remains ‘enslaved’, “the mother country will be here in order to ensure that a solution that will be put forward will have as a perquisite the removal of all foreign occupying forces.”

“Cyprus is a modern European state. There is no need to have intermediaries, or guarantees. The solution of the Cyprus problem will be the removal of forces and the end of the existence of guarantees. In this attempt Greece is standing with Cyprus,” Kammenos said.