Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Tiny Kox called on the leaderships in Cyprus to start talking how to go from the Cyprus problem to the Cyprus solution. He also pointed out that the main injustice in Cyprus is the Turkish occupation and that the solution should be based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality.

Kox, who is paying a visit to Cyprus, met on Friday morning with Justice and Public Order Minister Anna Koukkides-Prokopiou.

Speaking after the meeting, Kox said that it has been a pleasure to meet the Minister of Justice and exchange ideas about "how we can ensure that justice is done to all citizens of Europe, including all Cypriots."

'The main injustice that is done to Cyprus is the fact the northern part of your Republic is under occupation for almost half of century', he said and added that in order to gain the support of the international community, the UN, the EU and the Council of Europe (CoE), you should start to concentrate all your energy not to talk any longer about the Cyprus problem but the Cyprus solution.

'There has to be a way out, nobody invited the Turkish forces to come and to stay in part of your country. So, it is time to make that clear that there is no invitation, please leave, reunite the country on a bizonal, bicommunal basis with political equality. It is not that difficult, what we need is political will,' he said.

He added that occupation has to end and the country has to be reunited and then Cyprus and Turkey can live in peace together and take benefit of the presence of each other instead of being in this confrontation situation for far too long.

Kox further noted that with the Minister they discussed that the best thing a country can do as a member of the CoE, is to develop the rule of law, the protection of human rights and the development of democracy. He pointed out that 'if you develop yourself in such a way you are not a threat to your own citizens and if you develop yourself in such a way you are also not a threat to your neighbours. So, if your neighbours also behave more or less in respecting the rule of law, the human rights and democracy, and neighbours of the neighbours do more or less the same, then Europe can be the continent of peace'.

Kox said that the CoE was developed just after the end of World War II, when we had completely devastated the continent and in order to prevent a Third World War from happening. 'In these challenging times that we are confronting a war of aggression of Russia against one of our members, Ukraine, it is exactly the right moment to start to reconsider the importance of this peacefully living together,' he underlined.

He said that President Christodoulides added to the agenda that if you talk about illegal invasion to Ukraine we also should talk about illegal invasion of part of Cyprus, and if we want the illegal invasion of Ukraine to end we also should think about how to end the occupation of part of the Republic of Cyprus. 'In the end it is not that difficult, what we need is political will and I wish you to go from the Cyprus problem to the Cyprus solution. There will be a solution, I am sure,' he concluded.

In her statements after the meeting, the Minister of Justice described the working meeting with Kox as excellent, during which, among other things, the Cyprus issue was discussed.

She thanked PACE President for his positions on the Cyprus issue, as expressed yesterday in Parliament.

Kox said that what is happening in Ukraine today due to Russia's aggression is the same with what is happening in Cyprus due to the Turkish invasion. "It is important that someone in a such a political position such as Kox, fully understands that the problem in Cyprus is a problem of invasion and occupation," she said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency