Iran has asked Cyprus to convey a number of messages to Israel and ‘we will’, the President disclosed today, noting that he will be calling PM Netanyahu later in the day.
Nicosia has also requested an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to discuss the latest developments in the Iran-Israel conflict and the need to de-escalate.
‘I will continue communication with regional leaders’, the President said, asked on the content of his phone conversations with mostly Arab country leaders as well as the European Council President.
Christodoulides was set to speak with Netanyahu last night but the worsening security situation made it impossible. Later today he will also be exchanging views with Egyptian President Al Sisi and the European Commission President Ursula Von Der Layen.
‘Our goal is to end a situation that leads nowhere and will never solve anything’, Christodoulides stressed.
In light of the upcoming G7 summit in Canada next week, the President has asked the European Council President to put the issue in the strongest of terms, but also expressed his displeasure that the EU was late in its response.
‘We saw a joint statement, one or two states disagreed, but we’ve also asked for an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council’, he said.
Christodoulides added that it simply wasn’t credible for the EU to claim a geopolitical role but fail to even call a meeting its foreign affairs ministers.
He further reiterated that the British have clearly and publicly stated that their Bases have not been used in any operations against Iran and stressed that it’s not up to Nicosia to exert pressure towards London in preventing it from taking part in the current conflict.
‘It’s not about exerting pressure. Cyprus comes with a role in the region. The Republic has the unique characteristic of being in a position to talk to everyone and within such a framework, we were asked to deliver a message to Israel. We shall do so’.
Cyprus, he added, without ‘overstating its role’, is trying to convey such messages and create those conditions that will end a tough situation.
The issue will also be discussed with the President of India Narendra Modi, expected later today in Cyprus ‘in an historic visit, the first after 20 years’, the President said.
It’s an important agenda, he noted, but the regional situation will also be touched upon, as one of our goals is to connect India with Europe through the wider Middle East and provide Indian access to Europe through the Republic of Cyprus.
