Mitsotakis calls Cyprus a test of UN credibility in General Assembly address

New York, United States. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Cyprus a “litmus test” of the United Nations’ credibility in an address to the General Assembly. He said the unresolved Cyprus issue remained an “open wound” in the eastern Mediterranean.

Call for Cyprus negotiations

Mitsotakis said 52 years had passed since Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus, which he described as illegal, and said the continuing occupation was a violation of international law whose consequences persisted for the UN.

He said Greece fully supported UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent efforts to create conditions for the resumption of substantive negotiations. Mitsotakis expressed hope for progress before Guterres’ second and final term ends in December, and said the effort should continue under his successor.

He said the objective remained the reunification of Cyprus, free of occupation forces and in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Wars in Ukraine and Sudan

Mitsotakis said the principles at stake in Cyprus were also being tested elsewhere. He described the war in Ukraine as being in its fifth year and said Russia’s full-scale aggression had brought war back to European soil.

He said Greece continued to stand with the Ukrainian people and called for diplomacy to deliver an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace based on the UN Charter. Ukraine must have a decisive say in its future, he said, and Europe must be included in negotiations.

Mitsotakis also called for urgent attention to the war in Sudan, saying it had caused a “staggering humanitarian catastrophe”.