Religious Leaders Promote Peace in Cyprus

The two religious representatives said they were delighted to meet for the first time, and warmly welcomed the initiative of Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden to bring them together.

There was goodwill on both sides, and a positive and sincere discussion took place, declared the European intermediare.

Cypriot Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos II and the Turkish Cypriot Director of Religious Affairs Ahmet Yonluer were brought together as the culmination of a series of bi-communal meetings, whose aim was to "create person-to-person dialogue" to help resolve the Cyprus problem.

The two leaders discussed ways that they could contribute to the creation of an atmosphere of trust and tolerance, to set an example to the people and politicians of Cyprus.

They agreed to meet again and to take practical steps to promote respect for places of worship in all parts of the island, including efforts to ensure their restoration.

As a first step, they agreed to work towards the goal of enabling worship at the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque in Larnaca and the Apostolos Andreas Monastery in the Karpas Peninsula.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, PACE President René van der Linden emphasised that inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue was a priority of his Presidency, and stressed that this historic first meeting had been an excellent example.(EÜ)