The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called on the President of Cyprus and the Cypriot Parliament to stand by Athens in the effort to convince their European partners to trust the European democratic institutions and not bodies with no legitimacy which have been overtaken by events and have been proven to lead to a deadlock.

Addressing a special session of the House plenary, Tsipras, who concludes an official visit to Cyprus on Tuesday, urged Anastasiades to rally around him in his attempt to tackle an unprecedented human crisis his country is facing in the past four years.

Referring to pending issues within Europe, Tsipras said Greece and Cyprus agree that Europe must place development and employment at the top of their priorities and that both countries will support all initiatives towards this direction.

“The Cyprus issue is an international problem of invasion and occupation and the security and the international standing of not only the Republic of Cyprus but also of the Hellenic Republic are associated with the solution of the problem. The just and viable settlement on the basis of UN decision is a focal axis of Greek foreign policy,” he said, referring to the island’s division and continuing Turkish occupation.

Greece, he pointed out, supports the peace talks towards an evolution of the Republic of Cyprus towards a bizonal bicommunal federation with a single personality, one sovereignty and one citizenship, where the rights and the fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots will be safeguarded.

He said Athens does not accept a four-party negotiation which would put on an equal par Greece and the occupation power, Turkey.

The Greek PM also said he would support efforts by political powers and social organizations towards rapprochement between the island’s two communities and towards building trust.

He called on the Turkish Cypriot leadership to contribute decisively towards the resolution of the current impasse without supporting the blatantly illegal moves by Ankara, which violate Cyprus’ sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone and its continental shelf as these emanate from the Law of the Sea Convention.

Expressing support for Nicosia’s diplomatic attempts to resume the stalled talks, he said “we cannot have bicommunal talks under continuous provocations and threats, which can neither be ignored nor commended by the international community.”

He called on the UN to undertake in time an initiative to create the appropriate climate that would enable the talks to resume “by having the Turkish research vessel Barbaros withdraw from Cyprus’ territorial waters, its exclusive economic zone and the country’s continental shelf.”

He did point out however that all diplomatic channels with Turkey must be kept open.