The Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulidis gave an interview to the German Editors’ Network (RND) which is published under the title “‘We are at our limits’: The President of Cyprus talks about the migration flows from Lebanon and escalation in the Middle East”.
Nikos Christodoulidis expresses the hope that the conflict in Middle East will not escalate and emphasizes that Cyprus, which is the EU member state closest to the region, maintains excellent relations with all parties involved.
Regarding the use of two British military bases in Cyprusstates that there is no advance information that the British will use them, and clarifies that Cyprus is not involved in any way in military actions.
President Christodoulidis announces, moreover, that the maritime corridor for the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza “can very soon be restarted”, as the temporary port in Gaza, which is a construction of the American army, will be made available.
When it is ready for use it will be much easier to transport more humanitarian aid in two or even three ships to Gaza, he explains. He adds that “for us this is a very big step” and that this is how the ban on ships sailing from Cyprus to Gaza came about after 17 years.
Mr. Christodoulidis further comments that despite the fact that the Middle East is adjacent to the EU, “we do not have a leading role in the efforts for peace” and states that he is not satisfied with the EU’s engagement with the issue so far, stressing that it will the Union must play a much more important role both in the de-escalation of the crisis and in the negotiations for the two-state solution. He points out that the EU has been very focused on Ukraine, which he fully supports, but if he wants to play a leading role in geopolitics, he should be able to manage two or three crises at the same time.
The crisis in the Middle East also affects the security of Europe, but also in the field of immigration, observes the Cypriot President, while expressing his satisfaction at the fact that on May 2nd he is going to travel together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, in Lebanon, where they will announce – at the initiative of Cyprus – a specific package of economic measures of the EU, which will also include the support of the institutions of Lebanon, for example the armed forces of the country, which constitute a factor of stability. “It is a long-term plan, and Lebanon and the EU must keep their commitments in order for it to succeed”, Mr. Christodoulidis emphasizes, clarifying that with this agreement the aim is for the EU to assist Lebanon in managing migration, in order that no more immigrants come to Cyprus.
“It is a really important issue, because in the last two, three months, Syrians from Lebanon have been arriving in Cyprus almost every day. But we are an island country and people remain in Cyprus”, notes the President of the Republic, characteristically saying that at the moment 7% of the population of Cyprus are immigrants.
He adds that there is bilateral cooperation with Lebanon in order to stop these flows, but at the same time, the fact that certain areas of Syria are de facto safe today must be discussed, which is why “we explicitly request to designate specific areas of Syria as safe areas”.
Asked if Cyprus has reached its limits in terms of accepting refugees, President Christodoulidis states: “Enough. We are unable to accept any more Syrian refugees. We are at our limits and can no longer handle this flow of refugees. That is why I asked the EU for help and decided to suspend the examination of new asylum applications. For us it is a matter of national security. We are no longer able to meet this challenge.”
Regarding the need to attract specialized personnel, the President of the Republic points out that Cyprus is in talks with a number of countries, including Lebanon, with the aim of signing relevant agreements, as well as that it is in contact with Egypt and India for the same issue.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the accession of Cyprus to the EU, he characterizes the accession as the most important positive development since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960 and underlines that Cyprus would not be able to cope with various challenges, such as the pandemic of the coronavirus and the need to supply vaccines or the financial crisis if it was not a member of the EU.
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