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Statements
by the President of the Republic at the European Council Summit |
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The President of the Republic,
Mr Nikos Christodoulides, upon arrival at the European Council Summit in
Brussels, said: “You understand that the situation in the Middle East is the topic that is expected to dominate the discussions, on the occasion of the presence of the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) in Brussels. I hope that today it will be possible, finally, to reach conclusions that will underline the European Union's (EU) common position, on the need for a ceasefire, as well as on the need to strengthen the humanitarian aid. I am glad that the implementation of an initiative, initiated in October 2023, has just been launched. Today a very important meeting
took place in Cyprus with the participation of 36 states. Twenty-three EU
member states were there and all the G7 countries were represented, the
United Nations (UN), in order to see, firstly, how the technical details can be
safeguarded, so that our country's initiative can be even more effective and,
secondly, the creation of a fund that will further increase the amount of
humanitarian aid in Gaza. I have already been briefed –
and I am pleased about this – by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands that
his country will contribute 10 million euro. In the EU, the relevant process
has already initiated. It seems that the EU will make an initial contribution
of around 70 million euro to this fund. There is interest from many countries,
precisely in the establishment and operation of this fund. It is something
that, I repeat, we will discuss here in the presence of the
Secretary-General, but also later at the level of the 27, and I hope that we
will reach to conclusions. From then on, I will have a
separate meeting with the Secretary-General (SG) after lunch. We will of
course discuss the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus. The UN has supported
this initiative from the outset. The representative of the SG is in Cyprus since
yesterday for this meeting. We will, of course, discuss the Cyprus problem as
well, to see the developments so far, the outcome of Mrs Holguín's contacts
and the next steps. Last night I was briefed by the
President of the Council, Mr Michel, that a meeting with the SG took place
and that the Cyprus issue was on the agenda. In this broader context, he also
announced that very shortly, while we will have a joint meeting with the
German Chancellor and the President of the Council to discuss the possibility
of adopting some conclusions concerning Euro-Turkish relations. As you know,
so far there is no mention of Euro-Turkish relations in the draft
conclusions. This is something that we are going to discuss now,
the three of us and, depending on the outcome, we will see whether there will
be a discussion and whether there will be conclusions. Our position is well-known: We,
more than any other member state, want to see developments in Euro-Turkish
relations. Developments that are strongly related to a concrete progress in
the Cyprus problem. Unfortunately, the latest statements do not help in any
way. However, I am here to specifically discuss how there could be progress
on the Cyprus issue - and when we say progress we [mean that we]cannot
discuss anything other than the resumption of talks on the basis of the
agreed framework from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana - and,
hence, progress on some of the Euro-Turkish issues. I will discuss all these,
I repeat, in the meeting we are about to have, and depending on the outcome,
there will be a discussion at the level of the 27.” Responding to a journalist's
question regarding the Euro-Turkish issues, the President of the Republic
replied: “Our wish is well-known, it is
the resumption, nothing else, the resumption of the talks on the basis of the
agreed framework, from the point they were interrupted in Crans-Montana. To
resume this dialogue, I have said it many times, the EU has an essential role
to play. And I am content to be briefed late last night, following the working
dinner between the President of the Council and the UNSG, that the Cyprus
issue had been discussed. [It constitutes] a substantial reference to how the
dialogue can be resumed, how the EU, on the basis of both the conclusions and
our position, can be more actively engaged. I repeat, the EU has the tools to
enable the resumption of talks. Our position is well-known, we
consider that the appointment of a political personality from the EU side
will assist the whole process because Euro-Turkish [affairs], whether Turkey
wants it or whatever its approach is, is influenced by the developments in the
Cyprus problem. The Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the EU, we are
involved in the decision-making process. We want to see progress. We have a
very positive approach. I am not coming to Brussels with any negative bias.
On the contrary, at the same time, I want to see concrete developments on the
Cyprus problem.” When asked to comment German
Chancellor Scholz's statement that he wants to send positive messages to
Turkey, the President said: “I want to send a positive
message to Turkey even more than the Chancellor of Germany. Turkey is a neighbouring state
to the Republic of Cyprus, and I want to have a neighbour that is closer to
the EU, that respects the principles and values of the EU. At the same time,
this positive message requires some concrete steps, and I hope to see those
steps, to be recorded, to be concrete. We are at a critical juncture. The
recognition of our will, of our political will, led the SG to appoint a
personality as a personal envoy who started working. She is doing a
really good work and we want to enhance this effort. We want the intervention
of the EU, through the Euro-Turkish affairs, to be determinant and to reach
the goal, which I repeat, is nothing else than the resumption of the talks. Asked whether the President of
the European Council assured him, yesterday, that he supports Cyprus' request
for the resumption of talks, the President of the Republic replied: “The position of the President
of the [European] Council, as conveyed to me last night, as well as, the
position of the EU, through the EU’s conclusions, joint decision of the 27,
is the resumption of talks and the role of Turkey in the resumption of talks.” When asked about the second aid
shipment, through the maritime humanitarian corridor, the President replied: “We are preparing to send the
second ship. I don’t have a date to give you today because we also need to
see the weather conditions. We are ready in Cyprus.” In a follow-up question, when
asked to comment how he responds to criticism that the maritime humanitarian
corridor is nothing but a distraction to open more land routes in Gaza,
President Christodoulides said: “In no way. The maritime
humanitarian corridor, our proposal, complements other humanitarian corridors
and of course all available routes must be opened. We are here to support
this need. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, we are talking about a
humanitarian crisis, and we have to use all the routes in order to support
the people there." He noted that the President of
the European Commission, who had been in Cyprus and together they announced
the launch of the corridor, once again welcomed Cyprus' role and leadership
in sending humanitarian aid to Gaza. Asked whether we would accept a
paragraph without reference to a special envoy for Euro-Turkish relations,
President Christodoulides said: “We want positive conclusions,
positive references to the Euro-Turkey relations that go through positive
developments on the Cyprus problem." (AF/MS/IA) |
