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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades in their meeting in Nicosia on Monday took a joint position on the Cyprus issue.

The two leaders called for a bi-zonal bi-communal federation as the only solution to resolve the division of Cyprus caused by the 1974 Turkish invasion that led to 200,000 refugees, thousands of deaths and hundreds of women raped, the Greek City Times reports.

“Today’s visit comes at a sensitive time for the Cyprus issue,” the prime minister said, noting that discussions on the issue are under way for a five-party meeting under the auspices of the UN.

“I assured that the end of Turkey’s occupation and the finding of a functional and mutually acceptable solution remains a top priority of Greek foreign policy, an act of justice to the Cypriot people,” said Mitsotakis, referring to a “national priority.”

He expressed the commitment of both sides to the UN decisions that define the “only universally binding solution framework” for the Cyprus issue is a “bi-zonal bi-communal solution.”

“Unfortunately,” he added, “Turkey and the new Turkish Cypriot leader are “outside the UN, insisting on the groundless position of two states, something rejected, not only by Greece and Cyprus, but also the UN and the EU.”

“Ankara and (Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin) Tatar should know that the resumption of dialogue will take place within the limits I have underlined,” he said, adding that “the solution must not serve Turkey’s goals.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Sunday for talks to aim for "two separate states" in Cyprus, during a controversial visit to the north of the divided island which Turkey has occupied for nearly five decades.