The President of France, Mr.Emmanuel Macron, expressed today his assurance that the Republic of Cyprus can count on the full support of France in all aspects of the national problem, praising the commitment and will of President Nicos Christodoulides in the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.
The President of the Republic, who is in Paris, had a meeting with the President of France today at noon at the Presidential Palace (Elysee), where on his arrival he received a warm and cordial welcome from President Macron, while a military contingent paid tribute.
Immediately after the reception, the two Presidents made statements to the media.
President Macron, speaking through an interpreter, said: "Mr. President, dear Nico, thank you for coming to Paris today. I am delighted to welcome you on your first visit to France since your success in the elections, on which I congratulate you.
This working lunch will be an opportunity to work on the various issues, European, bilateral and international, that will concern us in the coming months. Of course we will look at the situation in Ukraine, we share the same commitment as Europe for this support to the Ukrainians to improve their economic situation, for the general situation, of course. We are unanimously against this war that Russia started and is still raging.
I am very happy about our common determination against the circumvention of all the sanctions imposed on Russia and with all European and international partners we will work from now on for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
We will be together on 1 June in Chisinau, Moldova, where the European family will meet in the framework of the European Political Community meeting.
As at the first Summit last October, we will again have the opportunity to reaffirm our ambition for the stability of our European continent and to continue the effort to protect both in cyberspace and for our critical infrastructure.
In preparation for this Summit in Moldova, it will be an opportunity to work on our high European stakes. Of course, we will give importance to European infrastructure, in the field of Energy, Defence, Security and of course, following what was said in the previous Council, we will continue to work on all these issues. We will also continue to negotiate for common solutions in Brussels on the issue of Russia and I am fully aware of what this issue means for Cyprus.
Recently we have had the activation of this common solidarity mechanism and it is in this spirit of appreciation and solidarity that we will continue to work.
Apart from this, we will also discuss the regional situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and in particular the Cyprus problem. I know, dear Nikos, your commitment to this cause, your will to find a viable solution and you can count on France's full support for this issue both diplomatically and militarily, as always in the past when we have had threats of escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean in a military context.
Of course, we should also deepen our cooperation on educational, economic and defence issues. I am very happy about the excellent cooperation we have and I believe that we will be able to maintain this level of ambition.
I believe that we will be able to consolidate these excellent ties between us and continue in this way for the future."
For his part, President Christodoulides said the following: "I am particularly grateful to my friend President Emmanuel for the invitation to visit France. This is in fact my first visit to an EU Member State since Athens and this in itself is proof of the excellent relations between our two countries, but also of the strategic importance of our bilateral relations.
I am sure that we will have a very productive discussion, a very substantial discussion in which we will reaffirm our excellent cooperation, both at bilateral and multilateral level, including of course our common European family.
Today we will see how we can further strengthen our bilateral and multilateral relations. Within the EU, France and Cyprus strongly support the further integration and strategic autonomy of the EU at all levels and I believe that strengthening our relations on the issues I mentioned above serves precisely the objectives of the EU.
We will also discuss how we can break the deadlock on Cyprus and we believe that the EU should play a more prominent role. We believe that the EU has the tools, the incentives, to lead us to a mutually beneficial situation. And we invest particularly in you, Mr. President, and in France, which is the only EU member state that is also a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, with particular sensitivities in the Eastern Mediterranean, and we look forward to your strong support so that we can break the deadlock and resume the talks from where they were interrupted. The EU, France, Cyprus are on the right side of history, there can be no different positions other than strong support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine and we will continue to act and approach the issue within that framework.
We will also discuss developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East, where we have identical views and approaches and I think we should move through a common strategy.
In this context and the issue of migration. The Republic of Cyprus continues to be the EU member state with the largest number of migrants in proportion to its population and we have to give a fair balance between responsibility and practical solidarity to a problem that is European and we need to find European solutions.
I would like to thank the French President for the fact that during the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, about a year ago, important steps were taken on the issue of migration.
Finally, on the second session of the European Political Community, I would like to thank the French President for the fact that during the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, about a year ago, important steps were taken on the issue of migration.
Finally, on the second session of the European Political Community, I would like to thank the French President for the fact that during the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, about a year ago, important steps were taken on the issue of migration.
The President of the Republic and the President of France and the members of their delegations then attended a working lunch followed by a private meeting between the two Presidents.
PM/SX
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