The President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Anastasiades had a meeting today, at the Presidential Palace, with the Prime Minister of Croatia, Mr Andrei Plenkovic, who is on an official visit to Cyprus.
The Prime Minister arrived at the Presidential Palace in the morning, where he was officially received by the President of the Republic, while at the same time a military contingent paid tribute.
The National Anthems were played and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg laid a wreath at the statue of Makarios G.
This was followed by a private meeting between President Anastasiades and the Prime Minister of Croatia, who then attended extended talks between the delegations of the two countries.
Later, the President and the Prime Minister of Croatia made statements to the media.
In his statement, President Anastasiades said, among other things, that the visit of Prime Minister Plenković, the first Croatian Prime Minister in Cyprus, is a turning point in bilateral relations, adding that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the two countries.
He added that the political dialogue at the highest level held in recent years between the two countries had resulted in bilateral relations entering a new phase particularly in the fields of Education, Tourism, Trade and Investment.
He also pointed out that the Cyprus Government attaches great importance to the completion of the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement between Cyprus and Croatia, which will strengthen bilateral economic relations.
On Tourism, the President said that the increase in direct flights between the two countries in the last two years will continue to contribute to further strengthening cooperation in this sector.
He added that during the bilateral consultations today it was agreed to take initiatives to increase the volume of trade in goods and services, as well as to implement investment programmes, while in the field of digital transition, the President referred to the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Estonia, expressing the desire to sign a similar Memorandum with Croatia.
With regard to Shipping, the President said that given Cyprus' expertise, he proposed to the Croatian Prime Minister the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in this area between the two countries.
President Anastasiades also said that they discussed issues on the European agenda and in particular the situation in Ukraine on which he was briefed by the Croatian Prime Minister after his visit to Kiev on 8 May, noting that the situation is deteriorating at an alarmingly high speed.
He underlined that the EU would continue to support Ukraine politically, diplomatically, economically and technically, but also to express full support for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"At the same time, we are united in adopting sanctions against Russia in an effort to put pressure on it to reconsider its actions, end hostilities and engage in negotiations to find a diplomatic solution," the President said, adding that "we know that these sanctions inevitably come at a cost to our own economies.
"Recently we have seen some proposals that may have a huge negative impact on the economies of Member States and a questionable impact on Russia," the President said, adding that what needs to be taken into account is that for maximum effect, third countries cooperating with the EU need to align their foreign and security policies with those of the EU.
"I refer, inter alia, to Turkey. Turkey's decision not to align with the sanctions against Russia is unacceptable and it is right for the EU to put pressure on Turkey to adopt these sanctions and abandon the tactics of self-interest which, inter alia, undermine the objective of the sanctions."
He also said that he and the Prime Minister discussed issues related to Migration, Climate Change, the Western Balkans and the energy crisis, to address which there is a need for alternative energy sources as a strategic priority and to accelerate related projects, noting that he briefed the Prime Minister on projects such as the EastMed pipeline and electricity interconnection (EuroAsia, EuroAfrica interconnector).
Referring to the Cyprus issue, President Anastasiades said that he briefed the Prime Minister on the latest developments and his proposals for confidence-building measures, as well as on the intransigent stance of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership.
He also briefed the Prime Minister on Turkey's ongoing provocations and violations both on the territory and in the maritime zone of the Republic of Cyprus.
Nevertheless, he said, he would continue efforts and would insist on the need for the Turkish Cypriot side to return to negotiations in order to resume the talks from where they were interrupted.
Finally, he thanked the Prime Minister of Croatia for the support of his country and himself personally in the efforts to find a lasting and workable solution to the Cyprus problem.
For his part, the Prime Minister of Croatia said, inter alia, that his visit offers the possibility of further strengthening bilateral relations in various areas such as energy, trade, investment in sectors such as pharmaceutical companies and digital technology.
He also said they discussed Migration, an issue that poses a huge problem in Cyprus due to the large numbers of illegal immigrants from Turkey, Africa and elsewhere.
Referring to the energy crisis, the Prime Minister said that Cyprus and Croatia can study ways for both countries to benefit from their potential in terms of natural gas, pipelines and other related investments.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Prime Minister Plenkovic said that he strongly supports the initiatives of President Anastasiades that can increase trust between the two communities, noting that "Croatia has always taken a principled stand on the Cyprus issue, supporting your efforts, advocating a peaceful solution and supporting all efforts to bring the parties closer to your proposals, which are in line with the UN Security Council resolutions on respect for international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this position will not change. It has always been consistent and clear."
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