Page 2 - Cyprus

Cyprus ready to ship aid to Gaza once a go-ahead is given, says president

Cyprus is ready to immediately begin shipping large quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza in vessels that can navigate shallow water once conditions on the ground allow for it, the president of the east Mediterranean island nation said Monday. President Nikos Christodoulides said his country's proposal for a maritime corridor from the Cyprus' port of Larnaca to Gaza is the only one currently being discussed on an international level as a feasible way to significantly supplement the trickle of aid getting into the enclave through Egypt's Rafah border checkpoint. Planning for the corridor of about 230 miles (370 kilometers) is essentially completed, and aid can begin to flow when a pause in fighting is declared, Christodoulides said. The Cypriot leader, who has been in regular contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the proposal, said that getting a green light to start the shipments is a complicated matter requiring intricate negotiations in light of the ongoing

Cyprus to ship humanitarian aid directly to Gaza, UN personnel to pickup

Cyprus offered more detail Wednesday on its initiative to create a sea corridor for the steady flow of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza, saying that aid-laden ships would sail directly to the enclave, where United Nations personnel would receive it for eventual distribution. Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the initiative in a positive light during a long telephone conversation Tuesday evening with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. Cyprus is still sketching out with fellow European Union member countries and Arab states the logistical details of its plan to ferry aid from its main port of Limassol to Gaza once conditions on the ground permit it. Ships would be vetted at the point of departure at the Limassol port to ensure that nothing would be transported that could be weaponised by Hamas to use against Israel. Gaza's humanitarian needs have escalated since the Israel-Hamas war erupted ..

Cyprus prepares for potential migrant influx due to Israel-Hamas war

Cyprus is doubling the existing 1,153-person capacity of its main migrant reception camp as the island nation prepares for potentially a large influx of people if the crisis in neighbouring Israel and Gaza escalates, authorities said Monday. The Pournara reception camp on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia will see an increase in staffing to adequately provide needed care to new arrivals and expedite asylum application processing, Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said in a statement. Authorities have evaluated different venues where migrants could be accommodated if arrivals exceed the capacity of the centre and would immediately ask the European Union to dispatch more personnel to help process asylum applications, the statement said. Nearly 200 migrants arrived in Cyprus aboard four separate boats on Saturday alone, likely setting sail from Lebanon which is 108 miles (174 km) from the country's eastern coastline - reported state broadcaster CyBC. Regular clashes

Netanyahu meets Italian counterpart Meloni, Cypriot President Nikos

Meloni assured Netanyahu of Italy's support for Israel

EAM Jaishankar holds bilateral meet with his Cyprus counterpart in New York

Prior to this, the EAM Minister met the Foreign Minister of Uganda, Gen JeJe Odongo and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and held bilateral talks

India to be invited to trilateral summit of Israel, Greece, Cyprus next yr

At the Summit, the leaders said that they reaffirmed their commitment to continue strengthening the dynamic cooperation of the trilateral partnership platform

Turkey's Erdogan slams peacekeepers for blocking road project in Cyprus

Turkey's president on Monday criticized U.N. peacekeepers for blocking the construction of a road in ethnically divided Cyprus, calling the action unacceptable and accusing the peacekeeping force of bias against Turkish Cypriots. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not allow any unlawful behavior toward ethnic Turks on Cyprus, where his country maintains more than 35,000 troops in the Mediterranean island nation 's breakaway northern third. Angry Turkish Cypriots last week punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers that blocked crews working on a road that would encroach on the island's U.N.-controlled buffer zone. The road is designed to connect the village of Arsos, located in the Turkish Cypriot north, with the multi-ethnic village of Pyla, which is located inside the buffer zone and abuts the Greek Cypriot south, where the island's internationally recognized government is seated. Preventing the Turkish Cypriots living

Turkish president doesn't rule out deadlocked Cyprus peace talks restart

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday didn't rule out reviving deadlocked negotiations to resolve Cyprus' nearly 50-year ethnic division, but again rejected any deal that wouldn't offer Turkish Cypriots a state of their own. That position stands against a United Nations-sanctioned framework envisioning a federated island nation. Speaking at celebrations in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north on the 49th anniversary of a Turkish invasion that split the island along ethnic lines, Erdogan again poured cold water on Greek Cypriot hopes of forming a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones as has been the aim of talks for decades. Everyone needs to understand now that a federal solution is not possible, Erdogan said. He said that Turkey does not oppose fresh talks, but that negotiations cannot restart without recognising the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots. Prompted by a coup in Cyprus aimed at uniting the island wit

Cyprus, Israel, Greece join forces on energy, defence, economy and tourism

The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Israel and Greece agreed to cooperate more closely on issues including energy, defence, economy and tourism.

Jaishankar meets house of representatives prez of Cyprus Annita Demetriou

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday met Annita Demetriou, the President of House of Representatives of Cyprus, and had "an interesting conversation on our parliamentary practices." Jaishankar arrived here earlier in the day on his first official visit to Cyprus, as the two countries celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. "Great to meet President of House of Representatives @AnnitaDemetriou. An interesting conversation on our parliamentary practices," Jaishankar said in a tweet. During his meeting with Demetriou, Jaishankar had "a useful exchange on our bilateral relationship and in the context of the EU." "They also discussed regional issues and Ukraine conflict," Jaishankar tweeted. The minister also said that the two countries have released commemorative stamps on Thursday on the occasion of 75 years of India's Independence and 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Earlier in the day, Jaishankar joined Demetriou to pay homage to Mahatma ..

EAM Jaishankar to visit Cyprus, Austria from Dec 29 to Jan 3: MEA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the Republic of Cyprus and Austria from December 29 to January 3, an official statement said on Wednesday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in the statement, said the minister will be in Republic of Cyprus (RoC) from December 29 to December 31, 2022. This year marks 60 years of the diplomatic relations between India and Cyprus. During his visit, Jaishankar will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs of RoC, Ioannis Kasoulides and also call on President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou. He will also address the business and investment community of that country, and interact with the Indian diaspora. In Austria, the external affairs minister (EAM) will meet Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, the statement said. This will be the first EAM-level visit from India to Austria in the last 27 years, and it takes place against the backdrop of 75 years of diplomatic ...

Cyprus hails full lifting of US weapons embargo, focus bilateral ties

Cyprus on Saturday hailed the full lifting of a US arms embargo on the ethnically divided island nation as a milestone reaffirming increasingly tighter bilateral bonds that serve to bolster stability in the turbulent east Mediterranean region. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Cyprus-US strategic partnership aims at creating the necessary conditions for regional security and stability. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined Cyprus met the conditions to allow for exports, re-exports and transfers of defense articles .. .for the fiscal year 2023. The US will assess annually whether Cyprus complies with conditions for the embargo lift, including implementing anti-money laundering regulations and denying Russian military vessels access to ports for refuelling and servicing. Cyprus barred Russian warships from using its ports in early March following the invasion of Ukraine. The conditions

Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece ink deal to strengthen diaspora affairs cooperation

Lebanon, Cyprus and Greece have signed a tripartite agreement to strengthen their cooperation on diaspora affairs, the National News Agency (NNA) reported

Cyprus says Turkey would likely object country's accession to NATO

Even if the Cypriot government was willing to [apply for NATO membership], there are serious issues that would face procedural questions and, of course, an objection from the Turkey: Anastasiades

Cyprus pitches zonal firefighting hub to Israel, Greece to curb wildfires

In a joint statement, the ministers said they had decided to intensify cooperation on issues contributing to resilience, energy security and interconnectivity in the region

Russia-Ukraine conflict stokes concerns over Turkey's nuclear plant

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that nuclear power plants are a source of great uncertainty for public safety, said George Perdikis, former leader of the Cyprus Greens Party

SC seeks ED's status on recovering Unitech home buyers' money from Cyprus

The top court also appointed former Supreme Court Judge AM Sapre to look into the policy and finalization of standard operating procedure for monetization of land assets

India inflows may get boost with category-I FPI status for Cyprus funds

Cyprus is the third non-FATF country to be given status in a move that could prompt more and possibly larger funds from Europea to route their investments through the island nation

Cyprus decides to buy Russia's Covid-19 vaccine pending EMA approval

Cyprus has decided to buy 50,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine once it is cleared by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), government spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said on Tuesday

Cyprus, Israel, Greece sign deal on electric cable link

Plans to connect Israel, Cyprus and Greece with a 2,000 megawatt undersea electricity cable took a key step forward on Monday