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- Ελληνικά
The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr.Nikos Christodoulides, arriving today, 21 March 2024, at the European Council Summit in Brussels, said: "You understand that the Middle East is the one 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, at last, to reach conclusions which will record the European Union's common position, on the one hand, on the need for a ceasefire, but also on the need to strengthen humanitarian aid. I am pleased that the implementation of an initiative launched in October 2023 has begun.
Today, a very important meeting took place in Cyprus with the participation of 36 States. Twenty-three European Union countries were there and all the G7 countries, the United Nations, were represented, in order to see, on the one hand, how the technical details can be secured in order to make our country's initiative even more effective and, secondly, the creation of a fund that will further enhance the quantities of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Already - and I am delighted about this - the Prime Minister of the Netherlands has informed me that his country will contribute EUR 10 million. In the European Union, the process has already begun. It seems that the European Union will make an initial contribution of around EUR 70 million 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 on at the level of the 27, and I hope we will have conclusions.
Beyond that I will have a separate meeting with the Secretary-General immediately after lunch. We will of course discuss the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus. The United Nations has supported this initiative from the beginning, the SG representative is in Cyprus since yesterday for this meeting. We will of course also discuss the Cyprus issue, to see the developments so far, the results of Mrs Holguín's contacts and the next steps.
I was informed last night by the President of the Council, Mr Michel, that there was a meeting with the Secretary-General and that the Cyprus issue was on the agenda. In this broader context, he also announced that in a very short 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. It is something that we will discuss at this moment at the level of the three of us and depending on the results we will see whether there will be a discussion and whether there will be conclusions: We, more than any other member state, want there to be developments in Euro-Turkish relations. But developments that go hand in hand with concrete progress on the Cyprus issue. Unfortunately, the latest statements made are not helping in any way. But I am here to discuss specifically how, on the one hand, there can be progress on the Cyprus issue - and when we say progress 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, by extension, progress on some of the Euro-Turkish issues. I will discuss all this, I repeat, at the meeting we are going to have now, and depending on the results, there will be a discussion at the level of the 27."
In response to a journalist's question on the Euro-Turkish issues, the President of the Republic replied. For this dialogue to resume, I have said many times, the European Union has an essential role to play. And I am glad to be informed late last night, after the conclusion of the working dinner between the President of the Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, that the Cyprus issue was in the discussions, a substantial reference to how the dialogue can be resumed, how the European Union, on the basis of both the conclusions and our position, can play a more active role. I repeat, the European Union has the tools to help restart the talks.
Our position is well known, we believe that the appointment of a political figure on the part of the EU will help the whole process because Euro-Turkish relations, whether Turkey wants it or whatever its approach is, is influenced by developments in the Cyprus problem. The Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the European Union, we are involved in the decisions, 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 steps on the Cyprus problem."
In response to another question from a journalist about what Cyprus says about German Chancellor Scholz's words that he wants to send positive messages to Turkey, the President said.
"I want more than the German Chancellor to send a positive message to Turkey. Turkey is a neighbouring state to the Republic of Cyprus, and I want to have a neighbour that is closer to the European Union, that respects the principles and values of the European Union. At the same time, this positive message requires some concrete steps, and I hope to see these steps, to be recorded, to be concrete. We are at a critical juncture. The recognition of our will, our political will led the Secretary General to appoint a personality as a personal envoy who started the work. She is doing a very good job and we want to strengthen this effort. We want the intervention of the European Union, through the Euro-Turkish talks, to be catalytic and to reach the goal, which I repeat is nothing less 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 negotiations, the President of the Republic said."
On sending a second aid shipment through the maritime humanitarian corridor, the President said: "The second ship is being prepared and the exact date of the voyage cannot be decided because it depends on the weather conditions. Cyprus is ready."
Asked how he responds to criticism that the maritime humanitarian corridor is nothing but a diversion 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 very serious, we are talking about a humanitarian crisis, and we must use all the channels in order to support the people there."
He noted that the President of the European Commission, who was 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 affairs, President Christodoulides said: "We want there to be positive conclusions, positive references to Euro-Turkey that go through positive developments on the Cyprus problem."
For the President's statements on his arrival at the European Council Summit, click here.
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