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- Ελληνικά
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Anita Demetriou, received this afternoon the Foreign Minister of Palestine, Mr Riyad al-Maliki, in the framework of his working visit to Cyprus. Mr. al-Maliki was accompanied by the Palestinian Ambassador to Cyprus, Mr. Abdallah Attari.
The President of the House of Representatives noted the excellent level of relations between Cyprus and Palestine. Demetriou expressed her thanks for the principled position of Palestine regarding the Cyprus problem. At the same time, she reaffirmed Cyprus' firm support for the resumption of talks for peace in the Middle East through an agreed two-state solution, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions. Cyprus, said Demetriou, as a result of its own painful experience of fifty years of continued occupation of its territory by Turkey, can understand very well the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza. For this reason, the Speaker stressed, Cyprus is always ready to contribute in every possible way to the provision of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and to the de-escalation of the crisis, which, as she pointed out, is becoming extremely worrying, with the risk of it spreading to the wider region, a development that would have disastrous consequences. Referring to the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Demetriou stressed that any act of terrorism is condemnable. It has become common knowledge that there are no "frozen conflicts" and that we must finally invest in peace by promoting dialogue based on principles and remaining committed to UN resolutions, the Speaker said.
The Palestinian Foreign Minister briefed the Speaker at length on the tragic humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, expressing anguish at the continuing deterioration of the situation, with hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties. Mr. al-Maliki warned of the visible potential for the crisis to spread, with incalculable costs for the entire region. He called on the international community, including the parliaments of all countries, to consider its collective responsibility and demand a ceasefire to allow for the release of prisoners, the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza and a return to talks to resolve the Palestinian issue in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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