“In the next few days, I think, we will have announcements in the direction of starting an effort, in order to see if there is ground to resume substantial talks on the Cyprus issue from where they were interrupted in the summer of 2017”, said today the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis.
In his statements to journalists, after the end of the commemoration of the heroes of the community of Trullo, the President of the Republic, when asked about his participation in the Conference for Peace held yesterday in Cairo, Egypt, said that “the Republic of Cyprus is a state of the region, it is an EU state, it is a state that has excellent relations with all neighboring states.
Within this context, it was important, and I consider recognition of what I mentioned above, but also of whatever role we can play, without exaggeration and big statements, it was important that we were at this Summit.
Let me simply tell you that only the big states participated from the EU side. France, Germany, Italy, Spain because it is the president of the Council, and the Republic of Cyprus and Greece were also invited. So, that in itself is important.
I had the opportunity during my presence there, in addition to the President of Egypt, Mr. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to meet with the President of the United Arab Emirates, with the President of Palestine, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, with leaders from Qatar and other countries of the region, to see how conditions can be created that will not worsen this bad situation before us, but also how de-escalation is created.
Within this context, the Republic of Cyprus can contribute either in terms of the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid, it can help – and we are already doing so – if there is a need for evacuation in the region, but also because of the excellent relations we maintain with all parties, to start a dialogue that might lead to de-escalation. And I consider that very important.
And it was one of the reasons that after the conclusion of the Synod I went to Israel, I met with the Prime Minister and the President of the country. Apart from the clear condemnation of the terrorist attacks by Hamas – terrorism from whoever it comes from is condemnable – I specifically mentioned these points, I developed some ideas that we have and that we also shared with our Arab friends, to see how it can be created, I repeat, a situation which will not lead to further escalation. We hope to reach de-escalation because, you realize, we are all affected by these developments.
The UN Secretary-General and the Assistant Secretary-General of the UN were at the Peace Conference, I consider it very important, because one of the elements we are trying to achieve is to make an effort to restart the talks to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the agreed framework .
But where I will stand is that I had, yes, a discussion with the UN Secretary General about the prospects of resuming the talks on the Cyprus issue. I am optimistic from what he has conveyed to me.
In the next few days, without wanting to go into any details or speak on behalf of the UN Secretary General, I believe that we will have announcements in the direction of starting an effort to see if there is that ground to resume meaningful talks from where they were interrupted in the summer of 2017″.
Asked to refer to his meetings in Israel with the President and the Prime Minister of the country, the President of the Republic said that “they presented me with the situation as it is at the moment and requested from the Republic of Cyprus, due to the fact that we are a member state of the EU , due to the fact that we have excellent relations with all the neighboring states – I remind you that I went there from Cairo – they asked for some specific issues that we need to see immediately, I cannot make them public, but they are issues related to humanitarian aid, possible evacuation from the region, but also of the transfer of the real image within the EU.
Because, lies are bad, we have to say that, in the current crisis, the EU did not show the necessary reflexes. Let me remind you that the extraordinary European Council took place almost ten days after the terrorist attack by Hamas.
So, it is important that they approach the Republic of Cyprus, so does Egypt, the role of the Republic of Cyprus as their representative in the EU Institutions, to convey the situation as it is, but also to see, because this is the main issue, how data and conditions are created to de-escalate the situation”.
Asked about the subject of the Understanding reached for Pyla and the start of projects in the area, the President of the Republic said that “I consider it important that this Understanding was reached, which was the product of discussions with Turkey itself. And I want to mention this.
The works start tomorrow, the main demand is ensured, the status of the dead zone, and at the same time, through the development that will take place, the community of Pyla will be helped and not only, and I consider it to be another sign of our goodwill , because, let me remind you, that this proposal, which was finally adopted, was a proposal from our side, while we had seen the actions of the occupying regime.
But through the support of the international community as well, because there was significant support in this effort of ours, we ended up with what will begin to be implemented tomorrow.
It will have its challenges, I want to be completely honest, it will have its difficulties, but we are here. Exactly, to deal with these potential problems that will arise. The agreement is very important and I think that in the next few days we will have a Declaration from the UN Security Council itself regarding what was achieved for Pyla”.
