Minister of Foreign Affairs Erato Kozakou Markoulli assures in a written statement that her main priority was always to serve the best interests of Cyprus and that her appointment to the post of Minister appears to have troubled certain persons.
Markoulli, the first woman appointed to the post, points out that it was disheartening that those annoyed by her appointment had resorted to conveying rumours which were far from the truth.
”I have faithfully served four Presidents of the Republic of Cyprus as a diplomat, including current President Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos,” she says, adding that with all four Presidents she enjoyed excellent cooperation, deriving from the respect and appreciation to her person.
She adds that she has also served under the instructions of five Ministers of Foreign Affairs, with whom she had excellent cooperation.
Regarding the Annan plan, Markoulli notes that what was important was its rejection by the overwhelming majority of the Greek Cypriot community and for this reason she contributed with all her might and diplomatic experience to the overall effort to block the aims of Turkey and other international circles to harm the Greek Cypriot side after it voted against the Annan plan.
Markoulli says today what should be rejected is the staying of foreign troops in Cyprus, the staying of Turkish settlers, whose presence is a war crime, the violation of human rights, the guarantees that provide intervention rights, the complex settlements that would make the federal state incapable of deciding in the EU framework.
”However, we will always say yes to the true reunification of our homeland, yes to cohabitation with our Turkish Cypriot compatriots, yes to the adoption of strict guarantees under Chapter VII of the UN Charter for the implementation of a settlement, yes to the full implementation of UN resolutions, international law and international human rights conventions, yes to a solution that will safeguard the interests of the Cypriots and not the outsiders,” she concludes.
Cyprus, which joined the EU in May 2004, has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. In April 2004, the Greek Cypriot community rejected a solution plan presented by the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as it did not address its main concerns.
