Greece's state and political leadership on Friday expressed deep sorrow and extended condolences for the death of former Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos, who died of lung cancer in a Nicosia hospital on Friday.
President Karolos Papoulias expressed his deepest sorrow in his message of condolence. "He served the Cyprus Republic faithfully, which honored him by giving him its highest office of president. He fought with passion and steadfastness for the future of Cypriot Hellenism and for his beliefs, always in the framework of democratic legality that he defended in difficult times," said the president.
"Under his presidency, Cyprus found the place it deserved as a member state of the European Union," he added.
According to Athens News Agency, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who was attending the European Council meeting in Brussels, said that Papadopoulos had been a "historic figure" of Cypriot Hellenism, which he had served with passion and dedication throughout his life.
"I had the opportunity to work closely with him in past years, during his presidential term. As president of the Cyprus Republic, he fought the difficult battle for his long-suffering country with consistency and patriotism," Karamanlis stressed, expressing his sincerest condolences to Cyprus and Papadopoulos' family.
Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas said that he "pays homage, on behalf of the Greek Parliament, to the late patriot," and said that all Greeks and Cyprus had lost an unbending warrior and a fighter that had always passionately fought for the rights of his country.
Source:Xinhua
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