Cyprus will continue to act as a bridge to safety to facilitate the safe evacuation of citizens from any war zone in the region, Cyprus’ Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, said on Monday, noting that developments in the region could also affect humanitarian aid plans to Gaza.

Responding to questions from journalists at the Foreign Ministry, in joint statements with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, and to a journalist’s comment that France and Belgium are ready to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon and whether Cyprus is ready to implement the “Estia” plan, Kombos replied that the “Estia” plan has been activated weeks ago and is in full operation, in full preparation mode.

“We have all the relevant inter-departmental meetings and we have set out how the plan is to be applied in the event that this is necessary,” he stated.

Kombos said that as has been done in recent months in relation to Sudan and in relation to the events that took place after October 7 in Israel, preparations are being made.

“We all hope that it is not going to be needed, but in the event that this is not the case, Cyprus will continue to act as a bridge to safety to facilitate the safe evacuation of citizens from any war zone in our part of the world,” he said.

Asked whether there is any update on the aid being sent to Gaza, what is happening there and what the next steps are, the Foreign Minister recalled that the humanitarian corridor existed before the floating platform, adding that we are now at the stage of phasing out JLOTS (Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system) process and that “there has always been planning in place about the medium-term option, which is ready to be activated. All the logistics and various elements have been put in place.”

The Foreign Minister also said that very detailed and comprehensive discussions have taken place with partner states on the next stage and that different ways of methodology for, again, direct access are being discussed.

“All this, of course, is subject to development, because, as you can understand, the situation in the region in the last few hours is taking a very different turn, and that is something that can only affect any kind of planning  as to how humanitarian aid goes into Gaza,” he noted.

He also said that all the various methods of sending aid to Gaza are facing difficulties, and this, he noted, “is not going to stop us from trying to contribute to something that we believe is seriously needed”.