Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will visit Cyprus on Wednesday, in light of Nicosia’s initiative for humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that the visit was related to the plans for the development and implementation of Cyprus’ initiative to create a maritime corridor to provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza.
He recalled that last week a technical team from Israel visited Cyprus, held meetings and visited the infrastructure involved in the implementation of the initiative.
The Israeli Foreign Minister will meet with his counterpart Constantinos Kombos, alongside technical teams to discuss technical issues related to the initiative.
Meanwhile, the ship initially identified as Lyme Bay, reported by various sources as the first humanitarian aid ship sent from Cyprus to Gaza, was still waiting to dock on Tuesday. It left Larnaca over the weekend, a move heralded by the government as the start of the humanitarian maritime corridor.
According to ‘Navy Lookout’, an independent UK publication run by naval journalists with contributors which include ex-forces personnel and academics, tweeted on Thursday that the HMS Duncan, a UK destroyer which the publication claimed it would escort the Lyme Bay vessel to the shores of Gaza, was seen arriving in Spain on Monday.
The tweet then hinted at the possibility that the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza was scrapped due to it being too risky or impractical.
As of Wednesday, no UK or Cypriot official has yet confirmed whether the vessel that departed from Larnaca port last weekend has unloaded its humanitarian cargo.
Despite the uncertainty regarding the vessel, on Thursday the US Defence Minister Lloyd Austin had a phone conversation with his Cypriot counterpart Michalis Giorgallas, whom he thanked for his close cooperation and support to the US regarding the ongoing humanitarian operations and for ensuring the safety and security of US nationals in the region.
According to the Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder, “Austin commended Cyprus for its steadfast support to Ukraine and role in supporting the flow of humanitarian aid to Israel and Gaza.”
Ryder added, “The two leaders also expressed appreciation for the expanding bilateral defence relationship between the United States and Cyprus.”
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
