Settlement would solve migration problem says Neophytou

Disy presidential candidate, Averof Neophytou, underlined his commitment to a settlement of the Cyprus issue in meetings he had with Cyprus-based ambassadors this week, telling them that a settlement would also solve the migration problem the country was facing.

“A settlement would also solve the migration issue and transform Cyprus from a cause of friction into the Switzerland of the Mediterranean for Israeli-Arab relations,” he said, mentioning that Cyprus could be the venue “for talks of Israel and the international community with Iran.”

Neophytou, who had met ambassadors of Western countries on Tuesday and those of Arab countries, Russia, Cuba and Brazil on Thursday, said that “as a European citizen, I am concerned about the change in demographics in the occupied territory, caused by the influx of settlers.”

He was also concerned about the influx of migrants to the Republic, a trend made more worrying by “our society’s low birth rate.”

“It worries me that thousands who arrive here, would increase significantly in a few years and become a sizeable percentage of the population,” he said and added: “And while we were worrying about the radicalization of Islam in other countries, we could have it in Cyprus.”

A settlement was the only way to avert this problem, said Neophytou. “It will send a message of coexistence between two different religions at a time when radical Islam is a problem, caused either by Jihadists or the Muslim Brotherhood,” he explained. This was the first time a Cyprus politician expressed fears about the Muslim Brotherhood.

“It will set a good example, that religion has never been a problem between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots; we want Muslims and Christians to be able to live together,” he said, adding that Cyprus, in this way could provide a “message also for the relations between Arabs and Israel.”

Neophytou told ambassadors that his proposal on energy and security could lead to a settlement, energy being the catalyst. And he was the man to deliver this.

“The elections will decide whether with the next President of the Republic, we will have a solution to the Cyprus problem or an adventure,” he said.