Setting a date for the expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue with the participation of the UN Secretary-General signals the Cyprus President’s efforts to resume talks, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Anna Aristotelous, said on Sunday, speaking at a commemoration event of the occupied community of Agios Vasileios in Strovolos, Nicosia.

She added that the expanded meeting, expected to take place in March, is the beginning of efforts to advance a meaningful dialogue on security issues, the lifting of guarantees and the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus. “At this moment, the unity of all political forces and the strengthening and reinforcement of the President’s efforts for a solution that will ensure the peaceful coexistence of all residents of the island remain crucial,” she noted.

“Fifty years is a long time, but not enough to detract us from our goal, or to tame our hope and will, until the final vindication, until the return to our land,” Aristotelous said.