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- Ελληνικά
The President of the Republic had meetings with the President and the Prime Minister of Israel
Separate meetings with the President and the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog and Benjamin Netanyahu, respectively, last night in Tel Aviv, where he travelled immediately after the conclusion of the International Peace Conference held in Cairo, Egypt.
Conveying messages on the need to de-escalate the crisis affecting our region, the continuation of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the need to avoid civilian casualties on all sides, as well as the start of a political dialogue that will lead to the creation of a horizon for a Middle East solution, President Christodoulides first held a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
During their meeting, Mr. Netanyahu, after thanking President Christodoulides for coming to Israel at a particularly difficult time, described the terrible moments experienced by the people of Israel following the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel.
Netanyahu referred to the meetings he held in recent days with the President of the United States and the German Chancellor and stressed the need for the civilized world to unite against terrorism and Hamas.
The Israeli Prime Minister thanked the President of the Republic for the support and solidarity shown from the very first moment of the terrorist attack.
Subsequently, the President of the Republic had a meeting with the President of Israel.
During their meeting, President Herzog thanked President Christodoulides for travelling to Israel to express his solidarity with the people of Israel.
He added that "we are in national mourning for one of the greatest tragedies that our nation has faced since its independence. And your solidarity means so much to us."
We are glad that two hostages have been released, but there are more than 210 hostages with dozens of children, dozens of elderly, dozens of sick and of course hundreds of innocent people who were kidnapped and need to be returned safely to Israel unconditionally.
I also want to say that what we are undertaking today is part of our right to defend ourselves, we are undertaking it in full respect of the rules of international humanitarian law, and that's why we allowed humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza, to help civilians not to be under fire, to move, to get help.
And the most important thing to mention, because you are part of our region, is that we are watching very closely what is happening on our northern border. It is clear to us, since we are fully alert and focused on what is happening, on the Lebanese side, that the Lebanese state is fully responsible for this situation and will be fully responsible if the situation deteriorates."
For his part, the President said that "I am here to express the solidarity of the Cypriot people, of the Republic of Cyprus.
The issue of the hostages is a tragedy, their immediate release should be the number one priority for all of us.
At the same time, I am glad that humanitarian aid has started to be transferred to Gaza, it is a positive development.
I am also here because we are in the same neighbourhood, we are friends, your concerns are our concerns, and we are also here as an EU member, and we are sending a strong message about the need for the EU to be present at this very difficult crossroads for our neighbourhood.
And I am here to discuss, to see how we can find a solution to this crisis."
The meetings were also attended by Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, Government Spokesman Constantinos Letibiotis and the Director of the President's Diplomatic Office, Marilena Raouna.
The President and his entourage returned to Cyprus in the early hours of 22 October.
(RM/IS)
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