The intervention of the President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, in coordination with the Maltese Prime Minister led to the inclusion of a reference to the energy needs of island states in the conclusions of the special summit of the European Council, Government Spokesperson Marios Pelekanos said in a written statement.
Pelekanos pointed out that in its conclusions, the European Council underlined the need to take full account of the concerns of the EU island member states in relation to the achievement of their targets, both in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
The Spokesman added that the conclusions also note the need to complete and improve the electrical interconnections of Member States, such as Cyprus, which continue to be isolated from the European gas and electricity networks.
Pelekanos referred to the discussions during the second day of the summit, which focused on energy, the high prices affecting households and businesses across the European territory, the EU’s decoupling from Russian fossil fuels, the consequences of the war on global food security and the risk of destabilisation in many parts of the world, and finally the strengthening and coordination of European defence.
The Government Spokesman said that regarding food security, President Anastasiades “expressed his concern about the risks that may arise from shortages of basic commodities such as cereals, but also about the resulting increases in food prices, and stressed the need for the European Union to act collectively to prevent further deterioration of the situation.”
The Spokesman drew particular attention to Cyprus’ position that the case of Egypt is of great importance, as it is the largest importer of grain in the world, 90% of which is imported from Ukraine and Russia.
“If the situation continues to deteriorate, we cannot rule out the possibility of Egypt facing social unrest due to food insecurity,” the Government Spokesman stressed, noting that the EU should continue to provide support to the country with the aim of enhancing food security and resilience.
Finally, President Anastasiades “raised before his European counterparts both the new illegal actions of the Turkish side in the enclosed area of Varosha and the Turkish provocative behaviour in general, as well as the revisionist positions that Turkey continues to put forward regarding the framework for a Cyprus solution,” the Spokesman added, noting that he also expressed “his solidarity with the Greek Prime Minister, given the unprovoked verbal attacks in which Ankara has recently engaged in against Athens.”
Anastasiades also asked his counterparts “to point out to Turkey the importance of ending unilateral actions and provocations in general, as well as of putting the Cyprus issue back on track for resolution”, according to Pelekanos.
Also, the Spokesman said, the President “reiterated our side’s proposals for the adoption of bold confidence-building measures that can restore trust between the two communities and create the conditions for the resumption of negotiations, with the aim of settling the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality, as provided for by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency