Cyprus calls for new peace initiative on Cyprus issue

President of the Cyprus House of Representatives Demetris Christofias warned on Tuesday that it would be a historic error to abandon efforts for a political settlement of the question of Cyprus.

In his address to the 9th annual Economist Conference held in Athens, he said that the contents of a solution must remove the causes that have led to the destruction of the island and pointed out that the solution must be agreed upon and not imposed.

"It would be a historic mistake to abandon the efforts for a solution to the problem. Partition in Cyprus is not a solution because it does not solve, on the contrary it maintains and deepens all those problems which constitute a grave threat for peace and stability in the region and are a source of problems forthe internal cohesion and functionality of the EU itself," he said.

The House President called on the international community to meet successfully the question of Cyprus, which he described as "one of the great challenges" the United Nations and the European Union have to tackle.

"A solution must be an agreed solution and not a given one, it must exclude the possibility of intervention by third parties in the internal affairs of Cyprus, it must give emphasis to the uniting and not the dividing elements and respect human rights andfundamental freedoms of the people," he pointed out.

He expressed hope for a solution as soon as possible and said the Greek Cypriot side is ready to respond to a new UN initiative towards this goal, stressing that with good will and substantive negotiations a UN-proposed solution plan can be amended to render it acceptable to the Greek Cypriots.

A reunited, prosperous and peaceful Cyprus, he concluded, couldbecome a bridge to unite people in peace, cooperation and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Source: Xinhua