The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece, Mr. Papandreou has touched upon the Cyprus issue and put forward certain allegations at the press conference held during his visit to Southern Cyprus.

It is deemed necessary to underline the following points with regard to the statement of Minister Papandreou.

There is need for a compromise in Cyprus which is negotiated, mutually acceptable and fully agreed by the two parties . This can only be achived by the two equal peoples in the Island and the two equal sovereign states representing them.

It is the UN Secretary General's mandate, not of the EU, to seek a settlement to the Cyprus question. The mechanisms of the efforts for settlement are the talks that are being carried out within the framework of the good offices mission of the UN Secretary General in which the parties participate on the basis of equality.

The Cyprus issue has not become an EU problem. However, despite our warnings, the steps taken in the past transformed the Cyprus issue into a problem for the EU. In order to free the EU from the Cyprus issue, first the two equal states in the Island must reach a compromise and then proceed to deal with the EU membership issue in the light of this reality.

An approach such as the EU will involve itself in the efforts for a settlement or the question will be solved with reference to the Helsinki decisions and within the context of the EU's relations with Turkey, is baseless and misleading. It is known by all what are the Helsinki decisions and the views of Turkey with regard to those sections of the decisions that concern the Cyprus issue.

Claims such as "invasion" and "pseudo state" are invalid approaches which are fully in contradiction with not only historical and legal but also present realities. Paving the way for a settlement in Cyprus is directly linked to abandonment of such claims.