Day: March 7, 2024

The role of the European Commission regarding the implementation of the maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza would be to help feed this corridor with all the necessary aid, head spokesperson Eric Mamer said responding to questions on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's visit to Cyprus on Thursday and Friday. When asked to clarify what exactly will be announced on Friday, Mamer said those questions should be addressed to the Cypriot authorities, as Von der Leyen is visiting the country after being invited. He stressed however that there has been work carried out behind the scenes, since the proposal was tabled by Cyprus in November. Mamer said that the visit was not connected to recent statements by the US. Mamer did stress that this is a project faced by lots of hurdles and difficulties, and that will develop over time. During the question and answer session of the Commission's midday briefing, Mamer was asked to comment whether there were more operational details on the maritime corridor. The sp okesperson responded that he had already received questions on this and had asked for 'a bit of patience'. 'We will be in Cyprus this evening and tomorrow with the Cypriot President. Let me remind you that this was an initiative from Cyprus, and therefore we will be providing details with the Cypriot authorities tomorrow' he noted. 'What I can say is that of course this is a project that was announced some months ago by the Cypriot authorities, and that we have been in contact with them since then in order to make this work. And we will be playing our full role as the project unfolds' he added. Responding to questions about the timing of these developments, given that the Cypriot proposal had been first presented in November in Paris in the presence of Von der Leyen and that there were no announcements since, and on whether this is connected with the recent statements by the US that this is an interesting proposal, Mamer commented on the fact that there was no information, by saying: 'Very simply we don't do our business here in the press room.' 'I can confirm that this has nothing to do with any announcement by other parties' he added, explaining that 'we are going there because, following all the work that has been ongoing by the Cypriot authorities and other partners, including the European Commission, we are now at a stage where the Cypriot authorities have invited us to come to Cyprus in order to launch the project.' This shows, he continued, 'that actually work has been going on behind the scenes, as you would expect in order to set this project up. Now, it is a project that of course faces lots of hurdles, lots of very big difficulties, and it is certainly a project that will develop over time.' Regarding the role of the Commission in particular, the Spokesperson said that 'our role will be to help feed this corridor with all the necessary aid that can transit through the corridor in order to provide support to Palestinians in Gaza.' He noted that 'it's not because you make an announcement, you know some months ago, that immediately everything has to be set up'. Mamer pointed out that when the Cypriot authorities announced their proposal, 'everybody recognized at the time and I believe that they made that very public, that this was a project which required a lot of work in order to be effective.' 'Now we are at a stage where we are going to Cyprus to participate in the launch of the project' he noted. Replying on whether this visit will be accompanied by the beginning of shipments to Gaza, he said that 'we are going there at their invitation for an event which is organized by them and therefore it is really for them to provide you with any information at this stage.' Source: Cyprus News Agency

Foreign Affairs Minister Constantinos Kombos announced on Thursday that Cyprus would be opening a diplomatic mission in Yerevan soon. Kombos, who paid Armenia an official visit on Wednesday and Thursday, announced this decision during joint statements he made with his counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, a Foreign Affairs Ministry press release said. The Cypriot Minister had a private meeting with Mirzoyan, followed by expanded talks with the participation of delegations from both Ministries, during which bilateral relations, EU-Armenia relations, the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were reviewed. The two Ministers also discussed international developments focusing on the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. Kombos briefed Mirzoyan about current developments in the Cyprus problem, conveying the Cypriot government's readiness for a resumption of talks aiming to reach a viable solution, in the form of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equali ty, as is provided for in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. At the same time, the press release continues, he thanked the Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister for the long-standing principled position Armenia has on the Cyprus problem. Following the consultations, Kombos and Mirzoyan signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Foreign Affairs Ministries. According to the press release, in joint statements to the press afterwards, Kombos announced the Cypriot government's decision to open a diplomatic mission in Yerevan soon. He further announced that the Republic of Cyprus would fund the construction of ten greenhouses in the context of an initiative in aid of the displaced of Nagorno Karabakh in cooperation with NGO "My Step Foundation" and the Armenian National Agriculture University. The Foreign Affairs Minister was received by President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan while he also had a meeting with the member of the Cyprus - Armenia Interparliamentary Committ ee of Cooperation. "During the meetings the excellent level of bilateral relations was reconfirmed and the will of both parties to further enhance cooperation was expressed," the press release reads. Kombos also visited the Armenian Genocide Monument where he laid a wreath on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus in honour of the genocide's victims, it concludes. Source: Cyprus News Agency

Italy supports the proposal, "which is becoming increasingly concrete", of a maritime humanitarian corridor for Gaza, Italian FM Antonio Tajani said on Thursday. "It is a proposal that comes from Cyprus to help the Palestinian population," he added in statements in Bucharest. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has praised Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides for the proposal. She is set to visit infrastructure on the island on Friday, from where the aid could be transported to the civilians in Gaza and discuss details on logistics. Source: Cyprus News Agency

Spokesperson of the UN Secretary General, Stefan Dujarric, stressed the great importance of the role of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean for humanitarian aid issues. Speaking during today's Press Briefing at the UN, and asked by CNA on Cyprus' contribution to the creation of a maritime humanitarian aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, Dujarric noted that "Cyprus has always played a very useful and important role in the Eastern Mediterranean on these matters, on humanitarian issues". "In fact, we have seen that for decades" he said, adding also that "High UN officials have visited Cyprus to discuss maritime issues with the Cypriot Authorities". Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides is hosting a private dinner, at the Presidential Palace, in Nicosia, for the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen with whom they travelled together to the island following their participation at the EEP Congress in Bucharest on Thursday. A press release from the Presidency says that Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis and Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna will also attend the dinner. They will discuss Cyprus' proposal for the maritime corridor for humanitarian aid to Gaza and their visit tomorrow at Larnaca port, the current situation in Cyprus and migration. Source: Cyprus News Agency

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to arrive in Cyprus on Thursday evening, and is to visit on Friday, accompanied by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, infrastructure to be used as part of the planning for the creation of a maritime corridor for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. As per separate statements by European Commission Chief Spokesperson Eric Mamer and Government Spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, von der Leyen, who is currently in Bucharest for the meeting of the European People's Party, is expected to arrive in Cyprus on Thursday evening. According to Letymbiotis, Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, will host a private dinner in von der Leyen's honour on Thursday evening, while on Friday they will visit together the infrastructure that concern the planning for a maritime humanitarian aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza. Mamer said that, during her visit to Cyprus, the European Commission President, is to visit the Larnaca port and the Search and Rescue Centre, in the context of the opening of a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza. He added that a press conference would be held afterwards. Source: Cyprus News Agency