Press Releases

The President of the Republic, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, today paid an unscheduled visit to the area of Agios Dometios, near “Maria’s House”, to be briefed about the implementation progress of the measures taken in the area by the Republic of Cyprus following the Turkish violation in the Buffer Zone.

During his stay, President Christodoulides spoke with the local residents and visited the National Guard outposts, accompanied by the Chief of the Force.

In his statements, referring to his visit there, the President of the Republic said: “I came to see for myself what has been done, the violation that has been done by the occupying army, but mostly to speak with the people, with the local residents.

It is very crucial for me to hear directly from them. I have to say that from what they conveyed to me; they feel secure. I discussed with them whether there are other measures the Republic can take. We had some discussions and what they said will be taken into account.

At the same time, the purpose of my presence here was to witness the implementation of the measures taken by the Republic of Cyprus, some of these measures concern this specific area, and to see their implementation in practice.”

When asked about the measures taken by the Republic of Cyprus, President Christodoulides declined to comment, noting "Some measures are visible and some others are not. We will not engage in a public dialogue about the decisions that have been taken.

Our priority is only one: the people to feel secure. This is our priority and we are working towards this direction.”

He added: “It was very important for me to hear directly from the residents themselves that they feel secure and that they notice a difference following the decisions taken. For me this is important.  The Chief of the National Guard is here, there is a daily evaluation by the Services of the Republic of Cyprus and we will do whatever is necessary."

When asked about the steps that the Republic of Cyprus intends to take in relation to the Turkish violation in the buffer zone, the President of the Republic said: "The violation is here, a very negative development. We are not satisfied with a mere note in the occasional reports on the activities of the peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

We will continue our efforts to reverse what has occured and it is not something we downplay in any way whatsoever.”

(MS/TT/NG)