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Palestinian president visits Cyprus (Update)

ΠτΔ Πρόεδρος Παλαιστινιακού Κράτους Επίσημη Επίσκεψη Άφιξη στο Προεδρικό Μέγαρο

Nicosia’s close ties with Israel will not affect its bilateral relations with the Palestinian Authority, President Nicos Anastasiades pledged to his Palestinian counterpart on Tuesday.

The comments came during a joint news conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived here on Monday on a three-day official visit.

On Tuesday the two leaders held talks at the presidential palace, where the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic training and development cooperation.

Anastasiades assured Abbas that “despite the equally excellent relations we have with Israel, it will not be to the detriment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.”

Referring to Abbas as his “brother,” Anastasiades noted the visit reciprocated a trip by the Cypriot president to Ramallah in November 2015.

“Your visit confirms, once again, the historical ties between our peoples and our determination and willingness to further deepen our bilateral cooperation,” he said.

The two sides agreed to boost cooperation in state institutions, business, and science, as well as in areas of common interest, such as tourism, education, medicine, and climate change.

Anastasiades spoke of the idea of setting up a tripartite arrangement among Cyprus, the Palestinian Authority and Greece.

During the talks, the two leaders also discussed world affairs, including the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“Recent events in Ukraine highlight once again the need to respect international law and to resolve any disputes under the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations,” noted Anastasiades.

For his part, Abbas called Cyprus a “friendly country.”

He stated:

“We want our relations to continue to grow. I am convinced this visit to Cyprus and the subsequent visits and contacts at the political and economic level will strengthen bilateral relations”.

The Palestinian leader thanked Cyprus for its firm stance on the Palestinian issue and for “siding with peace.”

He went on to blame the current Israeli government for the impasse in the Israel-Palestine issue, after Tel Aviv moved to suspend talks with Palestinians.

On his trip to Cyprus, Abbas is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Maliki, head of the General Intelligence Service Major General Majed Faraj, his advisor Mustafa Abu al-Rub, and the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Cyprus Abdullah Al-Attari.

Cyprus recognized the State of Palestine immediately after its declaration in 1988. Palestine has an embassy in Nicosia, and Cyprus has a representative office in Ramallah. In January 2011 Nicosia reaffirmed its recognition of the Palestinian State in 1988, and added that it would not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders.

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