“We are striving for peace and we are strengthening our economy and using our position in all international organizations of which we are members, including the UN, EU, NATO, and the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]. We are pushing our position of acts on supporting Cyprus and will make all efforts for a fair and viable solution on the basis of UN decisions,” Tsipras said during a speech to students at Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Cyprus is a Mediterranean island located south of Turkey and east of Greece, with Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots forming the majority of the island's population. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot military coup overthrew the government, and in response Turkey invaded the country. Currently, a buffer zone separates the Greek Cypriot south of the island from the Turkish Cypriot north.
After the Syriza Party won Greek elections in January, Tsipras stated that Greece is committed to hammering out a peace deal for Cyprus on the basis of bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.
