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The Cyprus government congratulated today Barack Obama, President-elect of the United States of America, expressing hope that he will honour the declarations he has made on Cyprus during the presidential campaign.
In statements after a Council of Ministers meeting, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said that the government notes that Obama is the first African American President in US history, adding that ''his programme and his declarations promise a new era for the USA, which will bring more social justice in the country and a normalization of its relations with the rest of the world.''
With regard to the Cyprus problem, Stefanou said the government hopes that the Obama Administration will honour the declarations he has made during the presidential campaign.
''Obama has made specific declarations which we welcome. From there on, we hope that these declarations will be fulfilled,'' he added.
The statement issued to the Greek American Community stated that ''as president, Barack Obama will show U.S. leadership in seeking to negotiate a political settlement on Cyprus. He believes strongly that Cyprus should remain a single, sovereign country in which each of the two communities on the island is able to exercise substantial political authority within a bi-zonal, bicommunal federation.''
''There must be a just and mutually agreed settlement of difficult issues like property, refugees, land, and security. A negotiated political settlement on Cyprus would end the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus and repair the island’s tragic division while paving the way to prosperity and peace throughout the entire region'', Obama added.
''We ask nothing more than respect of the values of international law and UN resolutions on Cyprus. We will insist on this, bearing in mind the realities existing both in the USA itself and in the world,'' the Spokesman said.
If international law and UN resolutions on Cyprus are implemented ''we will have a solution to the Cyprus problem which will benefit our people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,'' Stefanou concluded.
