Day: November 6, 2022

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Environment Minister Costas Kadis will be in Egypt from Sunday, to take part in the UN climate summit, COP27, which opens in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

President Anastasiades was set to travel to Egypt on Sunday to attend the Summit on Monday and Tuesday, November 7th and 8th, it was announced on Saturday.

In addition to his intervention during the Summit, President Anastasiades will present the initiative undertaken by Cyprus to address climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region, in an event he will co-organise with the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El- Sisi on the sidelines of the Summit.

The President will be accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Costas Kadis, who will also take part in the event co-organised by the Cyprus Republic and Egypt.

In a welcome message published on the event’s official page, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said he deeply believes that COP27 “is an opportunity to showcase unity against an existential threat that we can only overcome through concerted action and effective implementation.”

“As incoming Presidency Egypt will spare no effort to ensure that COP27 becomes the moment when the world moved from negotiation to implementation and where words were translated to actions, and where we collectively embarked on a path towards sustainability, a just transition and eventually a greener future for coming generations,” he noted.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The State Department is open to the possibility of an energy interconnection between Greece and Libya.

The US State Department spokesperson said that the US continues to support projects that promote the energy interconnection of the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa with Europe, according to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA).

The US ministry clarified that it places special emphasis on electricity connections, as it believes that they help the energy transition process and enhance energy security.

The chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, Farhat Bengdara, said that the country is considering the creation of two natural gas pipelines to Greece and the Egyptian city of Damietta.

Asked by ANA-MPA about the possibility of creating a pipeline that would connect Greece to Libya, a State Department spokesperson replied that it is their long-standing belief that the development of resources in the Eastern Mediterranean should promote cooperation and provide the foundation for sustainable energy security and economic prosperity across the region.

The spokesperson added that the US continue to support energy projects that will connect vital energy markets, such as the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, with Europe, and in particular electricity interconnections that help prepare for the clean energy transition that enhances energy security and sustainability.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides assured that the struggle to ascertain the fate of the missing persons will continue until the end, without ignoring the insurmountable obstacles since Turkey power refuses to contribute to efforts to resolve this humanitarian problem.

Speaking at the memorial service of the people of Trahoni, Kythrea who were executed in cold blood or fell while fighting during the advancing Turkish troops in 1974, Petrides said the relatives of the missing are being tormented for 48 years as they still do not know the fate of their loved ones.

He paid tribute to the 19 Trahoni residents who were killed and the 15 who are still missing, with their village receiving the most destructive blow in the second phase of the Turkish invasion. Old people, priests and mothers with their children were cold bloodily killed by the Turks. “The uncivilised invaders showed no sign of humanity or shame as they killed women, children and infants,” the Minister said.

Despite the suffering and pain and continued occupation, we have a duty to stand up and walk on the difficult path of virtue and maintain hope for an acceptable and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, Petrides noted.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.

A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The importance of further developing the defence collaboration between Cyprus and Germany was highlighted by Minister of Defence of Cyprus Charalambos Petrides and German Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht, during the latter’s visit to Cyprus on Sunday.

Lambrecht also expressed her recognition for the consistent stance and position that Cyprus has shown when it came to imposing EU sanctions on Russia.

In statements after their meeting, Petrides said that the German Defence Minister’s visit constitutes a milestone in the two countries’ bilateral defence collaboration, which extends to the facilities offered by the Republic of Cyprus to the German UNIFIL maritime taskforce contingent based in Cyprus since 2006, adding that Cyprus will continue to support Germany in this important deployment for the fulfilment of the mission’s mandate to ensure maritime security in the whole region.

Petrides added that during the bilateral meeting there were very constructive discussions in an array of issues, ranging from tangible ways of enhancing defence collaboration and pertinent issues of European, as well as regional stability.

“Our countries have only to gain through their collaboration, it comes at a time when the rules-based international order is questioned, and revisionist powers are on the rise. The effects of the illegal Russian invasion to Ukraine are more than visible and affect all of us,” he stressed.

The Defence Minister also said that the EU’s response and support given to Ukraine through our policies was also discussed, including with the establishment of the new CSDP military assistance mission for which Germany has a leading role to play, adding that he had the opportunity to brief his German counterpart about the continuing illegal Turkish military occupation and Ankara’s destabilising role with its revisionist policy vis-à-vis Cyprus and neighbouring countries, including the instrumentalisation of migration.

Petrides expressed his appreciation to the German Minister of Defence for sharing a forward-looking approach for developing bilateral cooperation, both in terms of institutional framework and military cooperation, and underlined that it is important that EU member states seek to advance their bilateral defence agenda to safeguard European security, as well as prosperity.

“We also have opportunities for cooperation within the EU framework, such as in the various European defence initiatives, the deployment and the procurement of armaments and capabilities, thus strengthening the European defence industrial base”, he continued, adding that to that end “we will work jointly for fostering a robust, as well as long-term bilateral defence collaboration with Germany that will be based on the principles of international law and the promotion of our European values.”

Petrides also recalled that earlier this year the two countries signed their first-ever bilateral defence collaboration programme and last month a defence attaché was posted to the embassy of Cyprus in Berlin.

“These steps will ensure that our cooperation will be developed in a sustained manner in the immediate future. With these visits and our in-depth consultations our cooperation received new impetus and momentum to work together in addressing mutual threats and harnessing new opportunities,” he concluded.

For her part, Christine Lambrecht thanked her Cypriot counterpart for the support Cyprus has been extending to the German contingent UNIFIL, adding that Cyprus’ support extends beyond that, as in May the two countries decided to intensify their collaboration even further.

The German Defence Minister also expressed her recognition for the consistent stance and position that Cyprus has shown when it came to imposing the EU sanctions on Russia.

“The consistency that the EU has shown vis-à-vis President Putin and also Russia is a very important message that we have sent, something that Putin did not expect, and we as partners of shared values need to continue to express that we stand by our values,” she noted.

“It is also very important for me to know that I can rely on the Republic of Cyprus in that regard when it comes to the sanction regime that was imposed due to the brutal war Russia is waging in Ukraine,” she stressed.

In such highly challenging times it is necessary to cooperate very closely both at the bilateral and at the EU level, continued Lambrecht, “and this is why as agreed we are committed to cooperating even more closely and be more engaged in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy.”

“It is an important message that the EU can send, that we are undertaking our responsibility in this very important area, and I am very happy to know that I can count on the Republic of Cyprus in these endeavours,” she said.

Asked if Germany would consider replacing Russian-built equipment in Cyprus immediately so that it can be transferred over to Ukraine, Lambrecht said that Germany is very clearly standing side-by-side with Ukraine and they express that commitment very clearly through the delivery of weapons, such as the recent delivery of the IRIS-T system to Ukraine, adding that it is crucial that we continue strengthening Ukraine, especially at this moment, so that it can protect itself from missiles and drones and we will continue to do just that.

She said that Germany is also assisting other states in exploring opportunities so that they can support Ukraine as well, but the decisions as to which country delivers what to Ukraine is a decision for each and every individual country to make, and added that within the EU and also NATO we stand united in that front and we have various formats for coordinating these issues, for example the Ramstein format, and this is where such decisions are made.

Petrides commented for his part that this issue wasn’t discussed during the bilateral meeting.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A meeting between Foreign Affairs Ministers of Greece Nikos Dendias and Cyprus Ioannis Kasoulides, on Monday, in Athens, is expected to focus on developments in the Cyprus problem and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, a press release by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

In particular, the two Foreign Ministers will have a private meeting at 12:00, followed by extended talks.

Subsequently, Dendias and Kasoulides will make joint statements to the press at 13:15. A working lunch will follow.

According to the Greek Foreign Ministry, the discussions between the two Ministers are part of the ongoing cooperation and coordination between the two countries.

The two Foreign Ministers are expected to focus on developments in the Cyprus problem and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean in the light of the latest developments.

In addition, they are expected to discuss issues related to multilateral cooperation schemes, the European Union, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The philosophy of the Cyprus Police is defined by a human-centric approach which is also an integral part of its policy and practice, Police Chief Stelios Papatheodorou said on Sunday at the opening of the ‘Police Week’, aiming at introducing to members of the public the work and the role of the Force.

The aim, according to Papatheodorou, is to communicate with citizens, young and old, and for the public to get to know several aspects of the operation and mission of the Police.

During the event, at the Traffic Education Park, in Nicosia, hundreds of people, including many children had the opportunity to see up close Police vehicles, boats and helicopters, police dog demonstrations and learn more about the Force’s work.

In his speech at the opening of the ‘Police Week’ Papatheodorou said that the Cyprus Police’s mandate is law enforcement, but at the same time, it is “a human-centric organisation with a very large humanitarian contribution.” He noted that all over the world, police personnel put their lives at risk to help people, and that, also in Cyprus, “the vast majority of our members are distinguished by self-sacrifice, diligence and social sensitivity.” He added that the Cyprus Police, “constitutes one of the largest public organisations” with 24 different Services/Departments/Units/Directorates, with infrastructure across the country, covering the entire scope of the duties of a national Police.

Papatheodorou also referred to the foreign policy of the Police, which, he said, is based on the fight against terrorism and radicalisation, on dealing with serious and organised crime, on improving the level of road safety, on effective border policing and on the regulation of issues on irregular migration.

In her address, Justice Minister, Stephie Dracos, said that said that through this week the Police will have the opportunity “to show their human face”, as in the perception of the citizens, especially young people, a stricter image of the Police usually prevails “since it is the authority that is called upon to impose the law and to maintain order and security.”

The Minister said that they want better cooperation between the public and the Police and, in achieving this goal, they have proceeded with the implementation of institutions, such as the Neighbourhood Police, but also the Bicycle Police, while, soon, she added, they are proceeding with a pilot project, ‘the local councils’, in which representatives of the schools, the local authorities, the civil society, among others, will participate. She noted that this was yet another policy for encouraging cooperation between society and crime prevention institutions, in the context of promoting and deepening participatory society.

As part of the event, and with the aim of raising awareness among citizens on road safety issues, an exhibition with photographs by CNA, of fatal road collisions is also hosted. The photos, which were selected by the Traffic Headquarters and edited by the “Orasis” photography association, were provided by the journalist and correspondent of CNA in Limassol, Stavros Koniotis.

On Sunday, activities at the Traffic Education Park, were open to the public, but, between Monday and Friday, the site will only be open for visits from schools. In the coming days, approximately 650 primary and secondary education pupils from 17 schools, are expected to visit.

Source: Cyprus News Agency