Athens , 20 October 2009

Mr. President of the Republic, Mr. Speaker of the House of Representatives, ladies and gentlemen MPs, colleagues, it is with great pleasure and a heightened sense of responsibility that I am here today, and I am greatly moved.

I am here continuing a tradition started by Andreas Papandreou, the first Greek Prime Minister to address you from this floor, in your parliament. He addressed the representatives of Cypriot Hellenism, the Cypriot people, during the triumphant session of 28 February 1982.

My heartfelt thanks for this exceptional honor and for the warm welcome you have given us.

It is a longstanding and firm pursuit of Greek foreign policy to avert the legitimization of – and in the end undo – the consequences of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. We do not forget that it is invasion and occupation, and we remind everyone of this at every opportunity.

The goal is to end this military occupation, the threat that this poses to Cypriot Hellenism, as well as to end the suffering of the relatives of the missing. Also firm is our goal of a new era of cooperation that we want to create in Greek-Turkish relations, for the security, stability and development of our wider region. And we are firmly dedicated to ensuring the fundamental freedoms and rights of all Cypriots: freedom of movement, restoration and acquisition of property, and residence throughout the territory of their homeland.

These firm objectives can and must be achieved peacefully, within the framework of a comprehensive and agreed solution to the Cyprus problem. A solution that will reunify the island, leading to the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus into a functional and viable bizonal, bicommunal federation, with political equality for both Communities, as set down in the resolutions of the UN Security Council, and with a single international personality, a single Cypriot sovereignty and a single Cypriot citizenship.

We firmly believe that the implementation of the community acquis throughout the territory of Cyprus – via the process set down in protocol 10 of the Act of Accession of Cyprus to the European Union – continues to be a catalyst for and guarantee of the above. A solution that will ensure the continued effective representation and participation of Cyprus in the European Union.

The resolution of the Cyprus problem is of course an affair of Cypriots themselves: Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. To bring about a successful outcome, Cypriot Hellenism has already made sacrifices and has lived through many disappointments in the past. But you never abandoned your island’s reunification.

The bicommunal talks are the method of resolution chosen by Cyprus - and Greece agreed - rejecting others, such as those that do not recognize the legitimate government of Cyprus.

That is why my government wholeheartedly supports the negotiating effort of President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Talat, which began on 3 September 2008, under the auspices of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

We will not be mere bystanders to this effort. We will take initiatives for its unhindered continuation until its final positive outcome. Initiatives within the framework of the very close cooperation and ongoing coordination we will have with President Christofias and his government.

We will maintain an active presence at Cyprus’s side, and our readiness to provide any assistance requested by the Cypriot government is a given.

In the European Union we are pointing up the EU’s own vital interest in a viable and functional solution, so that the Cyprus problem won’t return in a new form that might well directly impact the functioning of the European Union itself.

We will also engage Turkey. Not, of course, to negotiate with Turkey over the international problem of Cyprus, but because I sincerely believe that Ankara has every interest in allowing and encouraging Mr. Talat to negotiate a mutually beneficial solution. A solution based on the UN Security Council’s resolutions, which have repeatedly condemned the illegal secessionist entity; which recognize only one state in Cyprus: the Republic of Cyprus. And within this framework, they choose political equality between the two Communities, which will create, in a Democracy, conditions of cooperation, and not the co-sovereignty of two peoples and founding states, which will create conditions of dysfunction.

Turkey needs to set the Cypriot people free. That is, it needs to reconcile itself to the fact that acceptance and recognition of Cypriot sovereignty and independence is a fundamental prerequisite for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.

The Republic of Cyprus has actively shown its vitality, its staying power in times much more difficult than the present. And of course, the accession of Cyprus to the European Union and the accession course of Turkey itself – two things that I fought for personally – open up prospects that not long ago did not exist.

I believe that in Greece we have every right to feel vindicated by and proud of our contribution to this achievement of our Cypriot brothers; an achievement that the visionary Yiannos Kranidiotis unfortunately did not live to see, his death leaving a void for world Hellenism 10 years ago.

Participation in the European Union arms the Republic of Cyprus with new potential to defend its interests in security. It offers the opportunity to Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to rid themselves not of their national heritage and conscience, but of anachronistic, divisive and dead-end dependencies or of the often necessary dependence on mother countries. It will enable the Turkish Cypriots – following the agreed reunification of the island – to fully enjoy the assets that come from their participation in the European Union.

Mr. President of the Republic, Mr. Speaker of the House of Representatives, ladies and gentlemen MPs, it is Greece’s strategic choice to actively support the European orientation of Turkey and of all our neighbours in Southeast Europe.

As you know, I was one of the original authors of this Greek strategy, which insists on holding the door open to the prospect of Turkey’s full accession to the European Union, and not replacing it with the vague prospect of a special relationship. I don’t believe in this special relationship, which could have serious negative repercussions for Greek and Cypriot interests.

The fulfillment of Turkey’s contractual obligations vis-a-vis the European Union with regard to Cyprus would be the strongest proof that Turkey is really changing within the framework of its accession process. It would “open” at least 8 negotiating chapters that have been frozen due to Ankara’s refusal to do the obvious and it would have a positive effect on the resolution of the Cyprus issue.

It is self-evident and nationally imperative – as Greece and the Republic of Cyprus will insist – that Turkey fulfil these obligations, on which we have agreed within the European Union. In fact, it has to implement these obligations fully by the time of its evaluation by the December European Council. This is an evaluation that has to be carried out and will be carried out in December.

Turkey must contribute substantially and decisively in the effort towards a comprehensive and agreed solution on the Cyprus issue. The current unacceptable situation cannot be perpetuated. Turkey's unhindered accession course is mainly its own responsibility. But EU institutions also have to contribute substantially; they have to assist this course by rewarding achievements and condemning omissions and deficiencies. We will see progress only if we are honest to Turkey.

We have to be honest to Turkey both on the final outcome of its own accession negotiations and the conditions for achieving this goal. I discussed our position with President Christofias and the Cypriot political leadership in view of Turkey's evaluation by the December European Council.

With regard to direct negotiations on the resolution of the Cyprus issue, Turkey must realize and recognize that the purpose of these negotiations is not to dissolve but to transform the Cypriot state – already a UN and EU member – in a manner that will guarantee its sovereign rights, its ability to respond to its European and international obligations, its functionality and the substantial powers of the central, federal government.

Concurrently, it has to ensure there is a balance between the needs of the Turkish Cypriots for effective participation in the federal government, as well as for the administration of their own federal region, and the inescapable fact that the two communities are not at all equal in numbers.

Furthermore, Turkey has every opportunity – every interest in reviewing its positions on the security issue. We must all realize – and first of all, Turkey – that in our European neighbourhood, relations between us are not, cannot be determined by military force or the threat of force, but by respect for European principles and mutual obligations. And also that issues such as the protection of human rights are safeguarded by the European Union itself and by no military force.

Turkey can also contribute to the resolution of other aspects of this problem, such as settling the property issue, based on international law and guided principally by the rights of those who were deprived of their homes. The resolution of the Cyprus issue is a matter of political will; political will and leadership rather than arbitration and artificial timeframes, which were tested in the recent past, having the well-known negative results.

I want to be clear in every direction: there is no alternative solution to the reunification of the island. Greece, as well as Cypriot Greeks, do not accept the island’s division.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I deeply believe that the cause of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots – i.e., to reunite your common homeland – can and must be carried through to the benefit of Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and of course the broader region, as well as Europe.

In any event, my government – and I am certain the entire Greek political world – will continue to support you and stand by you; stand by Cypriot Hellenism every day and be firm supporters of Cyprus on the international stage.

Today,  I make the commitment before the Cypriot House of Representatives that we will continue to move side by side and face every challenge of our common future with determination, so that this temple of democracy can embrace and give voice to all Cypriots – Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike – within a democratic, reunified and free Cyprus.

Thank you.