Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday expressed satisfaction after a meeting with the American President Joe Biden, at the White House, that the regional footprint of the country was being recognised by the USA and is linked to both the form and the content of a possible solution to the Cyprus problem.
In his statements after the meeting with Biden, the President of the Republic referred to statements by the American President during their meeting, namely that he thanked for the role of the Republic of Cyprus in relation to the Middle East and the humanitarian corridor, and that “the need was emphasised that through the solution of the Cyprus issue, the Republic of Cyprus should not only be able to continue this specific role, but that this role should be clearly strengthened.”
The President of the Republic also announced that he believes that very soon “we will hear positive developments” in relation to the issue of lifting visa requirements for Cypriots visiting the US, but also that “even
more” would be done in the coming months in matters of defence and security.
President Christodoulides said that they had “an excellent” and “effective” discussion, with “deliverables”.
In his statements, President Christodoulides said that “it is of particular importance that the American President was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Advisor, a sign not only of the upgrading of our relations but also of all that we discussed.”
He said he thanked the US President for the firm US stand on the Cyprus issue, “especially at a time when we see Turkey promoting other forms of solution.”
He said that the American President himself, “after thanking us for the role of the Republic of Cyprus in relation to the Middle East, the humanitarian corridor, the possible evacuation of population from the region, the need was emphasised that, through the solution of the Cyprus issue, the Republic of Cyprus should not only continue this specific role, but that this role should be clear
ly strengthened.”
“I am particularly satisfied that this regional footprint of our country is being recognised and is linked to both the form and the content of a potential solution to the Cyprus problem”, he said.
Regarding bilateral relations, President Christodoulides said that “special emphasis” was given to defence and security issues, adding that, “a lot has been done recently, you will see even more within the coming months.”
He said that they also discussed the issue of American investments in Cyprus, and investments for which there is strong interest from the United States.
They also discussed, he added, the issue of lifting visa requirements for Cypriots visiting the US. “I think that very soon we will hear positive developments”, he said.
According to President Christodoulides, they also discussed the need for institutionalisation of cooperation in all the aforementioned areas but also in many others, such as energy, and technology.
President Christodoulides also answered to journalists’ ques
tions about the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region, and the Cyprus issue.
Asked whether anything was expected from the US Government in relation to the Cyprus issue, the President said that “yes, there is strong interest from the US in the need for the restart of the talks.”
He said that what he himself notes in particular “is the connection made by the US, the US President, but also the US Secretary of State, about the need, through the solution of the Cyprus problem, the role of the Republic of Cyprus in the region, not only to be maintained but strengthened even more”, he said. So, he added, “the developments in the region affect or are taken into account also in the US perspective in relation to the need for the restart of the talks, but also the content of the solution of the Cyprus problem”.
Asked about his discussions with President Biden on Gaza, President Christodoulides said that Cyprus is the closest EU member in the region and has “excellent relations” with all the neighbouring co
untries – Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt – and that, with the support of the United States it is sending humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Cyprus, he added, “is ready to evacuate third country nationals from the region in case of need. And we support the efforts of the international community and especially the United States to find a solution to this problem.”
He also said that “the number one priority” of the international community now, is a ceasefire in the region”, noting that he has been briefed about the US efforts towards this end, expressing hope “that soon we will be in a position to talk about a ceasefire in the region.”
“From our side, especially within the EU, we are working together with the United States”, he said, noting that he recently had telephone conversations with the Israeli Prime Minister, the President of Lebanon, the King of Jordan and the President of Egypt. “It’s a difficult situation, but we are trying to coordinate our efforts in order to reach a ceasefire”, President
Christodoulides said.
Asked about the US Elections, and whether the issue had been discussed with President Biden, the President said that ‘’we are going to fully respect the will of the American people”, adding that they did not discuss about the elections during the meeting.
Replying to another question about the Middle East, the President said that “the situation changes every day. If you asked me today, I’m optimistic that we can reach a ceasefire in the next one or two weeks.”
Asked if Cyprus was prepared for a wave of migrants coming from Israel to Cyprus, the President said that “we are concerned, having in mind that there are more than two million Syrians living in Lebanon, not in Israel” and that following the latest developments in Lebanon, a substantial number of Syrians and Lebanese, have moved towards Syria.
Replying to another question the President said that the only permanent solution in our region is the solution of the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution, based on the UN Secu
rity Council resolutions. It’s the only way to reach peace in our region, he concluded.
The meeting between President Christodoulides and President Biden lasted approximately one hour. The President of Cyprus was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, the Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the Deputy Minister of European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, the Director of his diplomatic office Doros Venezis, the Ambassador of Cyprus to the US Evangelos Savva, among others.
On the US side, the meeting was also attended by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and White House Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, among others.
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 latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency