Day: March 4, 2024

The Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, expressed his country's support to the efforts for a peaceful resolution of the Cyprus issue. Pellegrini met today with the President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou to whom he expressed his appreciation for 'the opportunity to meet at a time that is very important for Cyprus in terms of the future development of the negotiations for the Cyprus problem, which were suspended almost seven years ago.' In statements to the press after the meeting he stressed that 'Slovakia will always stand on your side and we will do our maximum to solve this problem peacefully'. Pellegrini also noted that both he and Demetriou agreed 'that the parliamentary diplomacy is really an important dimension of further development' of the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Slovakia, which go back more than 30 years, as he said. 'More than 30 years of diplomatic relations between Slovakia and Cyprus confirm really the high quality of ou r relations in all areas of common interest,' he noted. 'Slovakia is ready to continue contributing significantly to UNFICYP and our soldiers demonstrated in the last years and, also, in the last months high professionalism and dedication to the service of peace since 2001 in Cyprus,' said Pellegrini, who is visiting Cyprus to attend the events to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of UNFICYP. He also reaffirmed that Slovak soldiers will stay in Cyprus as long as needed, and said that this is his country's biggest mission abroad. 'Slovakia is one of the biggest members with 150 soldiers serving here' he explained. The Slovak official said that during his meeting with the House President they discussed a wide range of bilateral and international issues and he particularly mentioned the conflict in the eastern part of Europe, involving Russia and Ukraine, and the war in Gaza, which is not far from Cyprus as he said, and has had resulted to starvation and consequences on children and women, he not ed. The House President in her statements noted that it means a lot to hear her counterpart express Slovakia's support also noting that Pellegrini's visit 'coincides with a historic occasion marking the 50 years of Turkish invasion and ongoing occupation'. She also acknowledged Slovakia's contribution to the bicommunal dialogue and noted that both sides 'recognize the necessity for peace to be established,' both in Cyprus and in the region. 'That is why we are so grateful for your support about continuing the dialogue and negotiations from where they have stopped in the agreed framework, which is the bizonal bicommunal federation,' Demetriou said. 'In collaboration we can confront any small or great challenges and it is a time that we only need to support peace and prosperity and stability,' she also said Responding to a journalist's question about the challenges in the EU, especially regarding the upcoming elections in June, Annita Demetriou listed various challenges that had been discussed in the meeti ng, such as the migration issue, the economic crisis, the energy crisis, the environmental crisis. 'For all these the answer is clear, we need more solidarity and more compliance to our principles,' she pointed out 'I think it is about time to show to people - this is what we discussed as well - that we do have a plan, we do have a strategy and an answer to give to our people,' she further said. Concluding, the House President underlined that 'we do not want the extremist to gain either position, so we need to answer with more democracy and more compliance to what we believe and represent.' On his part, Pellegrini said that the positive aspects of the 20 years since the accession in the EU need to be highlighted. 'We have to use this opportunity to speak about the successful story of the last 20 years of the development of Slovakia, thanks to the accession to the EU,' he said. He noted that Slovakia's citizens support to the EU is decreasing. 'We would like to use this anniversary to speak about the positiv es,' he added. He further said that the EU has not been able to communicate to the citizens 'that it is able to protect them, to protect the external borders,' and he particularly spoke of the impact of migration flows in Europe. Pellegrini also referred to the protests and demonstrations of farmers saying that 'the EU leaders must send a strong message to the EU citizens that we continue to make the EU great again.' He finally said that the European elections are crucial and spoke of the possibility of 'extremist parties' potentially growing stronger and entering the European Parliament. Pellegrini said that the presence of 'strong extremist parties' would 'not be good for the future of the EU.' Source: Cyprus News Agency

ANTALYA: Trkiye's annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) has served "perfectly" in its role to advance diplomacy in times of turmoil around the Black Sea, according to the secretary general of a regional organization. "I've been participating in many fora like the ADF, but I have to tell you that the ADF has been one of the most relevant," Lazar Comanescu, secretary general of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), told Anadolu at the NEST Convention Center, where the event was held in the Mediterranean province of Antalya. Comanescu emphasized that the three-day forum, which began Friday and lasted through the weekend, has attracted important figures to attend, while also addressing major issues. On this year's theme, "Advancing diplomacy in times of turmoil," he said it fit perfectly with its impact on the Black Sea region, which has been witnessing "quite a lot of turmoil." Trkiye's BSEC chairmanship During the interview, Comanescu praised the important decisions made in Trkiye's six-month rotating term as BSEC chair, which it handed over to Albania late last year. Of particular importance was the revision of the regional organization's economic agenda, adopted by the foreign ministers of its 13 members late last year. Noting that this agenda will shape its strategy and spell out its priorities over the next decade, Comanescu said its adoption proves the member states' understanding of BSEC's important role enhancing regional economic cooperation "despite the turmoil which we witnessed because of the war in Ukraine." He said another major decision taken during Trkiye's term was the reactivation of BSEC's project development plan, aiming to strengthen its project-oriented activities. "There are others as well, for example, the consolidation, the enhancement of the BSEC Business Council, which is an important body of business of the organization," he added. BSEC fully resumes activities Comanescu noted that while the organization was not spared the regional impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, it has n ow resumed its activities. "The reality is that for more than half a year in 2022, our organization practically had to defer many of its activities, "But thanks also to the constructive approach of the member states, we've been able to resume the activity of the organization and now we are now almost in full back to our activities," he said, adding: "The important thing is to build upon what has been achieved, so as to further enhance the capability of the organization, and to contribute to the economic cooperation." All conflicts have global effects On Israel's ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, Comanescu voiced hope that the crisis in the Middle East be settled as soon as possible "We are living in a world where crisis in one corner of the world affects the world globally. So, my main remark on this topic is that, of course, any crisis, any conflict is affecting globally, including our region," he said. The BSEC secretary general also highlighted the organization's plans for 2024, sayi ng his priority is to introduce a proposal on the "concrete implementation of the BSEC Economic Agenda." He said they would also "come up with concrete proposals of projects to be implemented in the near future." Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Girona missed the chance to move closer to the Spanish La Liga summit after losing 1-0 to Mallorca on Sunday. Mallorca's Spanish defender Jose Manuel Copete's shot to the top left corner brought victory to the hosts at Mallorca Son Moix Stadium. Leaders Real Madrid, with 66 points, settled for a 2-2 draw with Valencia on Saturday and second place Girona were left with 59 points after the loss, while third-place Barcelona with 58 points are breathing down their neck. Source: Anadolu Agency