Cyprus says it will welcome one family fleeing Afghanistan (Updated)

Cyprus will take in a family with three children who fled Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday.

Speaking to Alpha TV, Christodoulides said that Cyrus has responded positively to calls by the EU for assistance.

“Based on our capacity, we will host a family with three children, who are currently in Spain,” Christodoulides said. He added that the family, who “did not know about our country”, had expressed the wish to go to Germany, as had 90 per cent of those who fled Afghanistan and are in Spain.

Cyprus News Agency had initially reported that Cyprus would symbolically grant refuge to three Afghans from the same family fleeing the unfolding conflict in Afghanistan, informing the European Commission that its welcoming capabilities are too overstretched to shelter more. Christodoulides

He said Spain has offered to host Afghans who were cooperating with the EU in their country, for a while.

“We are also in consultations with other states, more specifically the US, that will host a significant number of people from Afghanistan, on how we can assist in the transfer of these people,” Christodoulides said. Cyprus, he said, has offered to act as a transit point for evacuees from Afghanistan.

The minister also said the government is considering offering financial assistance to NGOs in Cyprus and abroad that assumed “noteworthy initiatives” to help people in need.

The EU’s foreign ministers will discuss the Afghanistan crisis at their informal meeting (Gymnich) this week, Christodoulides said. India’s foreign minister was also invited to take part at the lunch discussion, he added.

The commission sought details from various EU nations as to how many Afghans they can receive, with Cyprus replying that due to increased migration flows in recent years the island’s resettlement resources are currently extremely limited.

Sources told CNA that other EU nations have claimed that they are unable to provide care for any Afghans whatsoever.