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Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letibiotis briefed the media today at the Presidential Palace.
In his opening statement, the Spokesman said: "Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates visited our country. This visit was within the framework of bilateral contacts to assess the next steps for the continuation of the implementation of the Amalthea project.
As the United Arab Emirates is well known, the role of the United Arab Emirates was instrumental in the activation of the Amalthea project. During the meeting yesterday with the Minister of State for European Affairs, Mrs. Marilena Raouna, the strategic nature of the relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Cyprus was reaffirmed, which is clearly reflected through the synergies that have made the implementation of the Amalthea project possible.
The latest developments following the tragic incident in which seven WCK workers lost their lives were certainly reviewed. There was renewed condemnation of that incident. It was confirmed that practical measures and safeguards are necessary to ensure the safety of the workers and that it is imperative to continue the initiative to provide relief to the civilian population in Gaza. We will be in coordination with the United Arab Emirates on the next operational steps.
As is well known, the infrastructure that the United States of America is building in Gaza is ongoing, a development that will greatly enhance the increase in the flow of humanitarian aid, so much needed by the civilian population in Gaza, who remain stranded."
Asked whether the President intends to discuss the issue with the political leadership, the Spokesman said: "You understand that the government's actions in terms of managing the increased migration flows at the moment are mainly focused on coordination with the European Union (EU). This, which was made clear yesterday by the President of the Republic, is the promotion, the further promotion of our initiative to prepare a package similar to that of Egypt to Lebanon, so that it is able to further contain the increased migratory flows.
In this context, our efforts to designate some areas in Syria as safe will also continue. The visits to be made by the Minister of Interior are relevant. Tomorrow he goes to Denmark, on Thursday he will be in the Czech Republic, precisely for this reason, and on Friday he will hold a meeting with the responsible Deputy Minister in Greece."
In response to a journalist's remark that genocide is being committed against the Palestinians by Israel and the Government's position on this, as well as the fact that the dispatch of humanitarian aid has not been completed to the extent it should have been because of the Israeli Prime Minister, the Spokesman said: "The Republic of Cyprus, among the first countries, I think, we have reiterated our firm position that political dialogue should be resumed for a permanent resolution of the issue on the basis of United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. We have repeatedly said that the unjust killing, the killing of civilians is in conflict with all Security Council resolutions and with international humanitarian law. We are one of the countries where at this moment we continue to have excellent relations with all the countries in the region and we will continue to use this role in order to contribute in every possible way to ending the conflicts in the region.
What we have done as the Republic of Cyprus, as the closest EU Member State to the region, is to take a concrete initiative to provide the international community with another tool to enable the much needed humanitarian aid to reach the civilian population in Gaza, which is necessary for their survival. We will continue to make these efforts. It has to be said that efforts have been intensifying recently. There are many States and international organisations that recognise the value of the Amalthea initiative and there are many States that want to help in every possible way. The announcements that have been made about this initiative in recent times are also relevant. I reiterate that the flow of humanitarian aid will increase and will be able to increase to a great extent after the completion of the infrastructure that the United States of America is building on the ground."
Asked how the situation in Cyprus is changing with regard to migration following the President's visit to Lebanon, the Spokesman said: "I think we have to look at the facts objectively. In the last one year we see the numbers of the migration issue have changed radically. We have achieved for the first time, since the existence of migration in our country, a reversal of the data. Those who leave Cyprus are more than those who come. With the exception of the last few weeks, when there have been these increased migratory flows almost exclusively by sea and almost exclusively from Lebanon, the migration issue has been dealt with very effectively. We have seen the processing of applications drop from an average of nine months to one month in most cases. In the last month alone there have been over 1,100 returns from our country and all necessary measures have been taken.
What we are seeing is increased migration flows from Lebanon for the simple reason that Cyprus is geographically adjacent to Lebanon. It is for this reason that the President of the Republic, accompanied by the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, went to Lebanon yesterday to find ways for Lebanon to contain these increased migratory flows.
Yesterday was a very constructive meeting. We must say that the meetings took place in an excellent atmosphere. What the President has conveyed after the private meeting he had with the President of the European Commission is the thoughts that the President himself presented to Mrs. von der Leyen and how they are being addressed from the Lebanese perspective, so that we can strengthen Lebanon's capacity to contain these migratory flows.
We will see in the coming days how these actions, which have been agreed upon, are being implemented and we will be in regular contact with the EU so that there can be a conclusion. Already, the President of the Republic said in his statements today that it is not excluded that another visit to Lebanon together with the President of the European Commission will take place in this context. We believe that Lebanon should be supported and that this support should be strengthened, as was the case with Egypt. A country which, we should know, we have seen, at least to date, almost zero migratory flows from Egypt, despite the high number of irregular migrants there. And we want to see the same model followed in Lebanon."
Asked whether or not Mr. Tatar has rejected the ideas of the UN Secretary General (SG), the Spokesman said: "You understand that I will not speak for Mr. Tatar. What I will repeat to you is that we are positive on the SG's proposals. We remain positive and we will continue to work very intensively with the UN and with the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy. We will continue to make every possible effort to make it possible to resume negotiations from the point where they have been interrupted."
Asked when Ms. Holguín will come to Cyprus, he said: "I have no information on the date of Ms Holguín's visit. You understand that once there is that information and once the date of the meeting with the President of the Republic is locked, it will be communicated."
Asked if Guterres' proposal to the President of the Republic is along the lines of the government's position to continue negotiations from where they left off in Crans-Montana or is something else differentiated, possibly a middle way, the Spokesman said: "The proposal that the Secretary-General has made to the President of the Republic is obviously within the agreed framework and within the framework of the UN Secretary-General himself, who is always aligned with the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
As the President himself has said today, we believe that it is not through public statements that there can be a beneficial development and progress on the Cyprus problem. We, I repeat, will continue, we will continue, we will show the same constructive attitude and we really hope that the other side will show the same constructive attitude that we are showing."
Asked whether the UN Secretary General's proposal is on substance or on process, the Spokesman said: "Many times process is linked to substance and substance is linked to process. I repeat that at this point we do not think it is beneficial to continue this debate. What is important is that the Secretary-General remains committed to this effort, and he is demonstrating this through the appointment of Ms Holguín as his personal envoy. After seven years, unfortunately, of stalemate on the Cyprus issue, but also by the fact that he himself held a meeting with both the President of the Republic and Mr Tatar. We will continue these intensive contacts with the UN in the coming period. We also expect the SG's personal envoy to visit our country again at the EU level as well. We will take initiatives, we will continue to take initiatives, to contribute positively to this climate, which we believe is necessary for the resumption of negotiations."
Asked if the President will convene the National Council, Letybiotis said: "The President, as has been done all the previous times, let me remind you that so far the National Council has been convened five times, will convene a National Council when the facts differ from the previous National Council. You understand that Mr. Tatar's meeting with the UN Secretary General took place last Friday, [I.E.] a few days ago. The President's respect for the National Council, for the institution of the National Council and for the beneficial dialogue that takes place - the exchange of views that takes place in the National Council - is self-evident."
Asked whether the President has been informed of the outcome of the SG's meeting with Mr. Tatar and whether it is true that Ms. Holguín has been appointed for only six months, the Spokesman said: "On the first part of the question, already this morning the President of the Republic responded to a question on this at an event, where he came in and said that he had been informed of what was passed at the meeting, but he believes - and I think it goes without saying - that it is not something that will be made public. We continue to remain focused on the substance. On the question of the six months has been answered repeatedly. You have seen it yourself. There is nowhere in Mrs Holguín's terms of reference. Ms Holguín is the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for as long as he thinks she can be. We will reiterate that we hope that the six-month period will not have to be exhausted, in the sense that sooner than six months there will be those conditions and the negotiations can resume."
Asked if it is confirmed that Ms. Holguín conveyed the position that since we are the ones who want the negotiations to resume, we have to give things, the Spokesman said: "Where does this information come from? You understand that Ms. Holguín, as the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General, is making every effort to resume negotiations within the agreed framework. For our part, as the Republic of Cyprus, we have demonstrated our constructive attitude by taking initiatives. I remind you that with the announcement of the appointment of Ms. Holguín as Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, it is the President of the Republic who also announced measures to support our Turkish Cypriot compatriots in their daily lives."
Asked to comment on a report by the former President of DISY that diplomatic circles had confirmed to him the six-monthly reports, the Spokesman said: "I repeat, it has been answered repeatedly and I cannot know which authoritative diplomatic circles you may be referring to or referring to in the interview. Repeatedly this has been answered."
Asked to comment on reports by the General Secretary [OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE] of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in a Cypriot newspaper that he was essentially against the Bi-zonal Bicommunal Federation, the Spokesman said: "The stated position of the Republic of Cyprus and certainly of the President of the Republic and certainly of the Cypriot government is the commitment to the agreed framework, to the Bi-zonal Bicommunal Federation with political equality, always in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions."
In response to a journalist's remark in relation to the migration issue that the returns of irregular migrants referred to by the government do not concern Syrians, the Spokesman said: "We have been saying this ourselves from the beginning when we saw these increased migration flows. So that is why the President of the Republic, accompanied by two Ministers, had personally gone to Lebanon himself. It is precisely the same reason that, for many months now, the Minister of the Interior has been raising this issue of the need to reassess the status of Syria, particularly some areas in Syria. I repeat, it is for this reason that the Minister of Interior will go to Denmark tomorrow and to the Czech Republic the day after tomorrow to discuss this proposal of the Republic of Cyprus. And it is one of the issues that we have repeatedly raised."
Asked if Lebanon will take back any illegal migrants who came to Cyprus, the Spokesman said: "This is something that will be discussed in the coming period. Very specific actions have been discussed yesterday, jointly, actions that can be taken and we will see in the coming days how the implementation of these actions will evolve. What has been the main objective is the containment of these migratory flows from Lebanon to Cyprus."
When asked, the Spokesman said: "The upcoming informal European Council is expected to discuss migration. The package that will be discussed also concerns the European Commission, as was the case with Egypt, it is something that the President of the Republic will first discuss with Mrs von der Leyen after the results of yesterday's visit."
Asked to comment on AKEL's criticisms of the appointment of Mr. Patsalides' appointment to the Central Bank and asked whether the President, in making the appointment, had taken into account the report prepared by Alvarez and Marshal on the purchase of Greek bonds by the Bank of Cyprus at the time of the crisis in Cyprus, in which it is stated that there was a massive deletion of data from Mr. Patsalides' computer, while there was a specific instruction from the Central Bank not to delete anything, the Spokesman said: "Of course it was known. Let me say first of all that we would expect a more responsible attitude from a political force like AKEL. They accuse and blame omissions and mistakes of that period on a person who served, simply because he served, in the private sector, ignoring the fact that AKEL itself during its rule had three Ministers of Finance who served as executives in banks. We would expect at least at this stage AKEL to be doubly careful when referring to a very critical and a very special period for the finances of Cyprus, with responsibilities of its own, and we would expect the same rigorous self-criticism for AKEL's own mistakes and omissions.
With regard to the report to which you refer, it is well known that this report was commissioned by the Central Bank of Cyprus. The Central Bank of Cyprus itself has studied all the data and all the facts mentioned in this report. The Central Bank itself did not consider that there is any issue. It was an issue, which subsequently turned out to be due to a weakness in the bank's IT department. The Central Bank of Cyprus itself has repeatedly positioned itself on this issue.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish the new Governor of the Central Bank [OF] Cyprus good luck and good strength in his work in a very nerve-wracking area, in a very nerve-wracking post. We would also like to thank the outgoing Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Herodotus, for the work he has done in this critical period for the country."
Asked to respond to criticism that Mr. Patsalides was on Mr. Christodoulides' electoral staff and to accusations of "convenient", the Spokesman said: "If one studies the CV of Dr. Patsalides, I don't think one will see that there is any vollemma anywhere. Dr. Pachalidis has been serving for a year now as the President's advisor on economic issues. We have not seen that sensitivity in this one year since his appointment.
The President of the Republic, being fully aware of the seriousness of his decisions and especially the criticality of the position of the Governor of the Central Bank, had selected Dr. Paschalides for the position of the Governor of the Central Bank on the basis of objective criteria, always taking into account both his knowledge and experience, the knowledge that he can draw upon [AND] utilize in the very nerve-wracking post of the Governor of the Central Bank."
Asked to comment on what transpired on March 5 at the Monastery of St. Abbacum and then at the Diocese of Tamassos in the Diocese, the Spokesman said: "There are ongoing investigations, which are also being carried out by the Police." He added that "we have to wait for the investigations to be completed, to come up with concrete results."
To a reporter's comment that there is an impression in the public mind that government circles are making efforts so that the police investigations will clear the Metropolitan of Tamassos of any wrongdoing, if any, the Spokesman said: "This is categorically rejected. If there is specific evidence, we call on whoever has that evidence to provide it to the relevant authorities. As a government we will not, nor is it our intention, to get involved in any investigation which is ongoing. What we want, in order for the investigations to be completed, is for there to be concrete results and on the basis of these results there will be positions on the part of the government."
He was asked, among other things, whether the observatory, which exists in the Tamasou Diocese, when it started to be erected, had all the permits required by law secured, while he was asked whether all the buildings erected in the Abbacum Monastery had secured the permits required by law, and whether the same was true for the Monastery of St. George of the Caves and the Monastery of Our Lady of Jerusalem, the Representative said that the questions mainly concerned the Department of Planning and Zoning. He added that the legal way of licensing any building in our country is provided by the existing legislation, either the Planning and Zoning or the Roads and Buildings Act. He also said that the relevant authorities should be approached for information.
Asked what further can be done on the issue of illegal trafficking of migrants, the Spokesman said: "As far as the detection of illegal trafficking rings is concerned, all necessary measures are being taken and we are taking all necessary actions. Already yesterday we made an arrest of one such person, who appears to be cooperating and is part of a trafficking ring originating from Lebanon. The measures which we as the Republic of Cyprus could take, and which we are taking, are measures which relate to the internal aspect. At the moment, however, these are not issues of either omission or lack of measures on the part of the Republic of Cyprus. Right now, what we are dealing with is the external aspect of the migration issue and it is for this reason that our actions are focused in this direction, always in close cooperation with the EU, in terms of addressing the root causes of this phenomenon."
Asked about the investigation into the flooded pharmaceutical warehouses, the Spokesman said: "The factual report which the Minister of Health requested was presented before him yesterday afternoon. It is a multi-page report, which will first have to be studied with the due care and thorough study that this matter deserves, and if there is any evidence which advocates the investigation of any other inquiry, it will be received. As a Government we have said repeatedly that the reasons why this was done and whether it was appropriate at the time the first contract was made should be fully investigated. We have also been focused from the outset-and I must stress this, before the extreme weather events of 18 March-on moving, relocating the drugs to another suitable site. The Minister of Health in close collaboration with the Minister of Transportation are in the process of trying to find a suitable government space, if there can be one, for the relocation of the drugs beyond the process that had already been initiated to find a suitable space to house the drugs."
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