The meeting of Justice Minister Anna Prokopiou Koukkides with the Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Kvir aimed solely at thanking the representative of the neighbouring country for the immediate dispatch of a team that helped fighting the fires on the island and our position does not deviate from the EU approach, government sources have told CNA. "There was no political expedience as regards this meeting. Our position on issues related to political sensitivities does not of course deviate from the EU approach. This is our horizontal policy and this is what applies in this case as well," the sources noted, commenting on criticism over the meeting. They added that the meeting with the Israeli official was an informal one that was not prescheduled but was arranged on an ad hoc basis, at his own request as he represented the state of Israel and he is the competent Minister for the aircraft and the crews that were in Cyprus. The sources underlined that the meeting took place solely for the purpose of thanking the representative of the neighbouring country for the immediate dispatch of a supporting team for extinguishing the fires. The government sources also thanked all partners that expressed the intention to contribute in putting the fire out. They underlined that particular gratitude was expressed for Palestine's intention to send a team in Cyprus just after the historical visit of the President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides to Ramallah last week, "a fact that highlights the historical solidarity" between the two states.
Source: Cyprus News Agency