India and Armenia have congratulated Cyprus on its 62nd Independence Day.
Writing on Twitter, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said:
"Warm congratulations to Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and the Government and the people of the Cyprus on their Independence Day. Will continue to work towards deepening our special, time-tested friendship."
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, on the occasion of Independence Day. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the message reads as follows,
"Your Excellency,
I convey my warmest congratulations and best wishes on the Independence Day of the Republic of Cyprus. I wish prosperity, progress and peace to always accompany the fraternal people of Cyprus.
The Armenian-Cypriot interstate relations, anchored on strong traditional ties, historical, cultural and value system commonalities, are distinguished by their allied nature and willingness to show solidarity and support to each other.
I am confident that the fruitful and ever-developing cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus will continue to be strengthened and expanded at both bilateral and multilateral levels, including in the context of Armenia-EU cooperation and within the framework of the Armenia-Greece-Cyprus trilateral format."
Cyprus marks October 1st, Independence Day with a traditional military parade in Nicosia. It has been 62 years since the republic was established after Cyprus finally won full sovereignty from Britain.
“We remain focused on the liberation and reunification of Cyprus,” President Nicos Anastasiades said on Saturday.
President Anastasiades wished the Republic of Cyprus a long life in a tweet, adding that “we honour everyone that struggled for our homeland and we remain focused on the liberation and reunification of our land.”
Anastasiades received the salute of the parade, in the presence of the country’s political, religious and military leadership.
The Greek government was represented by Minister of National Defence Nicos Panagiotopoulos and the head of the Greek Army General Constantinos Floros.
Earlier, Anastasiades and members of the cabinet attended a memorial service to the honour of those who fell resisting the coup on July 15, 1974.
He also laid a wreath at the Imprisoned Graves in honour of the 13 fighters of the 1955-1959 liberation struggle (EOKA) against British rule, who are buried there.
He then returned to the Presidential Palace to lay a wreath before the statue of Archbishop Makarios III, the first President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in a statement: “We honor the anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus and the memory of the heroes of Cypriot Hellenism, who gave their lives for Freedom. We are always on the side of Cyprus to end the illegal Turkish occupation.”
Cyprus was originally a colony ruled by the United Kingdom from 1878 until 1960. During the 1950s the Greek people of Cyprus began to fight for unification with Greece, deciding to fight under EOKA.
The conflict lasted for four years which resulted in the British governor Sir Hugh Foot declaring Cyprus’s independence.
Instead of unifying with Greece, Cyprus was declared independent due to the Turkish minority groups not wanting to become an even smaller minority group under the rule of Greece