President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides has said that he discussed the Cyprus problem with US President Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El Sheikh that took place on Monday.
Invited Tuesday by journalists to say what he has discussed with the US President during their brief meeting, President Christodoulides said that “all I can say is that the issue that was discussed is the Cyprus problem.”
The President, who was arriving at the Conference of the Academy of the Law Office, in Nicosia, was asked about the participation of the Republic of Cyprus in the Gaza Peace Summit held yesterday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. He said that despite the fact that there were some who did not want the Republic of Cyprus to be present at the Summit, “we were invited by both the US President and the President of Egypt”. It is important, he said, “that we were very specific, as we did in October 2023, in Paris, when we first presented the ‘Amalthea’ initiative'”, the sea corridor for humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Gaza.
Yesterday, he added, Cyprus presented at the Peace Summit a specific plan, which is in progress, with six initiatives that the Republic of Cyprus can undertake, in the areas of security, reconstruction and humanitarian aid, based on President Trump’s 20-point plan.
President Christodoulides said that this proposal has been discussed during the previous days in telephone communications that he held, in particular with the President of the European Commission. The document, he continued, which is under development, has been sent to the European Commission, the EU Member States, the US and the interested parties adding that “now is the time to work so that what has been agreed in the first stage of the Trump plan is implemented, and we can move on to the second stage.”
“It is important, especially for us, as a country in the region with excellent relations with all neighboring states, we are the EU member state in the region and the state affected by developments, to do everything possible, always within our capabilities, so that what was agreed upon is implemented.” he underlined.
Usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties
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Meanwhile, invited to comment on the fact that Simon Aykut, who is accused for usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, pleaded yesterday -before a Cypriot court -guilty to 40 charges, the President of the Republic clarified at first that he does not interfere in matters of the judiciary.
Beyond that, he continued, this admission proves “the correctness of the Government’s policy, a policy that should had been followed for many years now.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
