Press Releases

A ship will depart from Larnaca in the next 24 hours to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said on Saturday, noting that Heads of State and Government, as well as Foreign Ministers are contacting the Government to express their interest in participating in the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus.

In his statements to media, while attending the philological memorial of the hero Evagoras Pallikaridis, in Pafos, and asked about the "Amalthea" project and the latest developments on it, the President of the Republic said: "I welcome first and foremost the fact that an initiative that we started in October with perseverance – we had a very concrete plan which I first presented at the conference held in Paris – is receiving this international recognition.

In the next 24 hours the vessel will depart from Larnaka. I cannot announce the specific time for security reasons. We are in constant contact with the states that supported this initiative. You have seen the announcement. At the same time, I am delighted because we are receiving, after the press conference with the President of the European Commission yesterday, telephone calls from Heads of State or Government or from Foreign Ministers, expressing their desire to participate in this initiative. An initiative that is being undertaken for humanitarian purposes. And what we always say is that the Republic of Cyprus, as the European Union (EU) Member State in the region that maintains excellent relations with all neighbouring states, always tries within its capabilities to contribute to the response to such challenges.

I believe that this is a development that proves what we always say, modestly and humbly, that our country can, indeed, be a core of security and stability in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, a region of particular geostrategic importance.

But, I want to repeat, always modestly and humbly."

Asked about his meeting with the UN Secretary General's personal envoy on the Cyprus problem next Monday, the President said: "Yes, I will have a meeting with Ms Holguín, she is coming from London. It will not be the only meeting, there will be another meeting. I understand that she will be in Cyprus for about a week, ten days.

We will have a meeting that will not be formal, we will talk very specifically. We have some thoughts that I want to share with her and I hope to be informed of developments that bring us closer to our sole objective, which is to resume the talks from where they were stopped as soon as possible.

I also discussed this issue at length with the President of the European Commission when she was in Cyprus.

We understand that Ms Holguín will also visit European capitals, including Brussels, to see the role that the EU can also play. And I hope we will soon have positive developments."

Asked how he interpreted the reference by the President of the European Commission in relation to the Cyprus problem and that the EU will stand by Cyprus, the President said: "It is a very positive reference, of course I know how specific it will be, from the private meeting we had. We had the opportunity to discuss at length, I would not like to go into detail in public.

What I am interested in is the outcome and within that framework of doing more work and saying less publicly."

(AP)