Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the multifaceted contribution of the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, to the progress of Megalonisos, but also to the ongoing efforts to achieve a fair and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem, welcoming Mr. Anastasiadis to the Maximos Palace. For his part, Nikos Anastasiadis emphasized the close cooperation between Nicosia and Athens to deal with the dangers stemming from Turkish revisionism.
The following is the entire dialogue between the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the outgoing President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: My dear Nikos (Anastasiadis), today is a very emotional moment for me and for the our homeland, as I welcome you to this place – which is so familiar to you – for the last time in your capacity as President of the Republic of Cyprus.
I want from the bottom of my heart and I believe, interpreting the feelings of all Greek women, all Greek men, but also of Hellenism as a whole, to thank you for the services you offered to your homeland.
President of the Republic of Cyprus for ten years, you came into action in the midst of a major economic crisis. We know it well, moreover, because we also went through similar, possibly heavier, adventures than you. However, you managed not only to fix the economy but also to advance your country as a whole on many different levels and I think you have every reason to be proud of that.
Unfortunately, there are still issues that you have not managed to achieve. and we failed to solve, more importantly, the great national wound of the Cyprus problem. I know, however, that even as the former President of the Republic, when your term of office is completed, your heart will always be there, in how we will achieve a fair, sustainable and functional solution to the Cyprus issue.
A goal, a cause that you fought for throughout your career and before you became President and I'm sure it will be in your heart forever.
Welcome again, I'm sure I'll welcome you in this office many more times in the capacity, now, not just of the former President but of a personal friend and I wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart.
Nikos Anastasiadis: Mr. Prime Minister, my Kyriakos, this is how we learned to talk to each other, it is honestly a terribly sensitive moment for me too, because the end of a political journey that has lasted 43 years, with the culmination of the last decade, is approaching.
What I would like to convey is the gratitude of Cypriot Hellenism, itself personally to the government, to your own Government, my Kyriako, but also to the respective Greek Governments, because through close cooperation we were called to face – and I think we faced – several dangers from Turkish revisionism and through diplomacy, the good neighborliness that we taught is built through the tripartite, quadripartite, multilateral alliances we have built, I think we have sufficiently shielded the Republic of Cyprus, so that it can negotiate a a solution that is functional and continuously sustainable, but also consistent with the European acquis. Something that will ensure not only the Greek Cypriots, but also the Turkish Cypriots, thus contributing to the prevalence of peace, but also to the progress of the entire Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
As you well know, a second reason for my presence today, is the practically minimal sign of solidarity towards Hellenism, towards Greek Hellenism, with the foundation of settlements, social housing in Mati.
I repeat, this it is a simple indication, because in the same way Greece's solidarity with Cyprus was manifold, either with sacrifices, with blood, or with material actions that supported the Republic of Cyprus.
And having said that, I want to say one thing: I will continue to be a Greek who is anxious for the fate of our Cyprus, for the fate of our Greece.
I will be present not in power, but in whatever struggles we are called to to undertake.
Thank you.
Afterwards, the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Niki Kerameos, and the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus, Prodromos Prodromou, signed the Greece-Cyprus Interstate Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Degrees, which aims to promote and facilitate cooperation in the field of mutual academic recognition of degrees awarded by University Institutions or institutions of Higher Education in the Republic of Cyprus and Higher Education in the Hellenic Republic.
Messrs. Mitsotakis and Anastasiadis will pay a visit to Mati, the site where the works are being carried out for the creation of a Memorial Park donated by the Republic of Cyprus.
