Delegation of the Municipality of Famagusta, which consisted of the mayor of the occupied city and president of the Union of Municipalities Mr. Alexis Galanos and the municipal councilors Mr. Konstantinos Hatzikakou and Georgios Beros made contacts with Dutch officials in The Hague.
The visit took place on the occasion of the presentation of the photo exhibition "Famagusta: A European ghost town" at the "Humanity House" museum in The Hague, which is dedicated to refugees. The Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in The Hague, Elpidoforos Oikonomou, and the diplomat of the Embassy, Nikos Argyridis, accompanied the delegation in its contacts. It is noted that the Netherlands is chairing the Council of the European Union this semester.
The delegation of the Municipality of Famagusta was received by the President of the Senate Mrs. Ankie Broekers-Knol and the Secretary General of the House Mr. Geert Jan Hamilton. A meeting was also held at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Director of the Europe Department, Ambassador Daphne Bergsma, the EU Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Coordinator Suzanne de Groot and the Minister for Cyprus Peter Booms. Finally, a meeting was held with the Members of the European Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament, Messrs. Harry Van Bommel (Socialists, "SP"), Anne Mulder (Liberals, "VVD") and Marit Maij (Labor, "PvdA").
In all the meetings, the mayor of Famagusta, Alexis Galanos, referred to the importance of returning Famagusta to its legal residents on the basis of Security Council Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992) and stressed the need for experts to enter the enclosed area for evacuation. reconstruction of the city.
He also pointed out that the return of Famagusta can be an important confidence-building measure, which will significantly strengthen the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue. An exchange of views was also held on the current phase of the talks and Turkey-EU relations.
Source: Liberal