President repeats disappointment over EU Gaza failure

While welcoming some of the decisions of the European Council, President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday reiterated he was disappointed no decision was made regarding Gaza aid.

Asked by reporters if he was satisfied with the decisions taken, he said: “for some of the decisions, such as the opening of accession negotiations for Ukraine and some other states, of course, it was something we supported as the Republic of Cyprus.

“However, I have already expressed my disagreement and concern about the way in which certain decisions have been taken, also about the fact that it has not been possible to reach conclusions on the Middle East issue”.

Although he supported the EU being on the right side of history regarding Ukraine, “I can only deplore the fact that we did not reach conclusions in relation to the Middle East, either because proper preparation was not made or because there was no time for discussion,” he added.

For this reason, he said, Christodoulides has spoken to officials from other Mediterranean states to organise something, to start working for the day after the war.

“If we do not start talking about it, if we do not come up with a framework, with some basic principles, I very much fear that this situation will either repeat itself or continue,” he said.

The neighbourhood of the EU must play a leading role in this, he added.

But he said announcements are expected soon regarding the island’s proposal to create a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza.

“There are developments on this issue, there may be some announcements today,” Christodoulides said.

“A group of Israelis has come to Cyprus, and a new group will come these days. We are ready, as soon as there is the green light from Israel, to send humanitarian aid.

“It is a tragic situation especially for civilians, I believe that much more needs to be done to protect civilians, there is no justification for killing civilians and within this framework is our approach to providing untied humanitarian aid.”

On Friday he said the European Union will pay the price for not taking decisive action over Gaza.