PTD visit to an EF outpost: "We are not a force that is ordered aggressively"

The President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Anastasiadis, visited today the "Aronas" outpost of the National Guard, on the occasion of the Christmas holidays.

Welcoming the President of the Republic, the Minister of Defense Mr. Charalambos Petridis said that "the National Guard in the midst of the pandemic and observing all the health protocols has intensified its activities both inside and outside Cyprus and with diplomacy, but also with the tripartite and multilateral collaborations, and we are implementing the armament program with the primary goal of implementing the electronic green line surveillance program where the first phase is expected to be implemented in the coming months.

"Our soldiers are here with the members of the National Guard, the experiences they gain are the guarantees and the supplies to take their next steps."

Speaking to the members of the National Guard who staff the outpost, President Anastasiadis said "I want to convey the wishes of the State to all of you, especially the thanks because through your service you protect the integrity of the country.

I have said it before, I will repeat it today. We are not the force that is ordered aggressively. We are the force that defends and strengthens defensively in such a way that its deterrent role is effective.

I do not want to make much mention of what I am doing in terms of strengthening the deterrent character of the National Guard. They have been uttered by the Minister of Defense. What I want to convey to you is our will and determination through diplomacy, through the strengthening of our relations with other countries, always invoking international law, UN resolutions and the decisions of the Security Council as well as the of the European acquis, the Summit Agreements, to work creatively in order to prevent what, unfortunately, Turkey has been engineering or dreaming of over time in order to perpetuate its presence here but also to control the entire territory of the country. They will not succeed and they will not succeed because the Turkish Government's revisionist positions and expansionist aspirations are unsupported.

I consider it my duty to appeal to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots to realize that beyond the 36% of the land that is under occupation, under occupation and suffering, they are, in addition to the Greek Cypriots who have been violently expelled from their ancestral homes, themselves. The usurpation of property, the usurpation of part of a country is not always to the benefit of the usurper. Our compatriots themselves experience the first or multiple experiences through the occupation that directly affects them and themselves, through the control exercised by Turkey that affects them equally and through what they experience by insisting on completely unacceptable positions in order to resolve the Cyprus issue. problem. I want to wish all of you personally and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of health, free from the pandemic, but most importantly let us wish 2022 to be the year of national results, reunification of our homeland, creation of a state that it will be functional and therefore sustainable for a state that respects the human rights of all as a European state. "

For his part, the Commander of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Democritus Zervakis thanked the President of the Republic for his constant interest in upgrading it, emphasizing that "the staff of the National Guard is moral and knows its mission and is ready to respond to role and the demands of you and the Cypriot people. "I am proud of my staff," said the Chief of Staff.