The ongoing division on the island of Cyprus is hindering peace, the new president of the Greek Cypriot administration, Nikos Christodoulides, said Tuesday as he was sworn in.
The former foreign minister, 49, has vowed to break "the deadlock" that has divided the Eastern Mediterranean island for decades.
The new president said the continued division "does not allow conditions of peace and security."
Recently, Christodoulides met with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar on neutral ground in a United Nations-controlled buffer zone splitting the two sides in Lefkoşa (Nicosia), at the home of Canadian diplomat Colin Stewart who heads the peacekeeping mission on the Eastern Mediterranean island.
The U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) said the meeting was "open and constructive."
Tatar told reporters after the meeting that it was a "goodwill" meeting, adding that "Cyprus has certain facts and sides should act in line with mutual respect," he said.
The island has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
It has recently seen an on-and-off peace process, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N. Annan Plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Today, Turkish Cyprus supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.
Christodoulides beat communist-backed career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis in a run-off vote on Feb. 12.
It was the first time a president had been elected without the support of the two largest parties, DISY and the communist AKEL, which means he had minority support in parliament.
Christodoulides promised to deliver a society of equal opportunities during his investiture speech before parliament on Tuesday.
"The fight against corruption and favoritism will be key points of my administration," he said.
A passports-for-cash scandal tainted the previous government led by Nicos Anastasiades, who served 10 years.
"The goal is better schools, greener cities, more quality health services," the new leader said.
He has vowed to tackle illegal migration in the European Union member, whose population is 915,000.
It had the bloc's second-highest intake of new asylum-seekers per population in October, according to EU data.
Christodoulides called illegal migration "one of the most pressing challenges" and said his efforts would focus on "speeding up the processing of asylum applications to increase returns."
He committed to sticking by reforms begun by the previous government and said reforming the legal system was a "major challenge," including shortening notoriously lengthy judicial procedures.
Christodoulides has already been criticized for falling short of his promises for a gender-balanced Cabinet.
Of the 11 entire Cabinet posts, three are held by women.
