Cyprus is a “bridge between the different parts” of the Middle East, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said on Tuesday after meeting Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos, who pledged that Cyprus will continue to work with friendly countries, trying to send the right messages in the Middle East conflict.

“Everyone has a role to play and sometimes the smaller countries can have an input and a contribution that by far exceeds their size,” Bettel said.

Commenting on the EU’s role in the Middle East and what initiatives it is taking to bring about peace in the region, Bettel said that Europe is not united on these questions and does not have a common position.

“Cyprus and Luxembourg are united because we know we want a ceasefire and a two-state solution, but foreign policy at the moment is unanimity and so the European influence is very small on the ground,” he added.

“We need a ceasefire but we also need steps from both sides,” he continued, adding that coordination with other non-EU countries is also needed for an impact on the ground.

“Peace in Palestine will be the security of Israel, the one will not exist without the other, we need both,” he added.

Kombos said the EU has failed to play the role that it can in terms of its capacity to influence the geostrategic situation, due to the fragmentation or divergence within its member states, but sometimes also due to a cacophony between institutions.

He added that the result is that the EU is not as influential as it should be and as it could be, and this is something that needs to be addressed. “We are trying at the bilateral level to achieve things that we could have or should have done as an entity, as the EU,” he added.

“At the end of the day what matters in the outcome, and the outcome right now is that we need a ceasefire, we don’t have it. We need humanitarian aid to flow in, we don’t have it to the point that is needed. We need the release of the hostages, we don’t have that either,” he said.

“We once again call for the release of the hostages, for an immediate ceasefire and for all sides to show maximum restraint. Diplomacy must prevail before more innocent lives are lost. Cyprus will continue to work with friendly countries in that direction, trying to send the right messages,” Kombos said.

Bettel said that his visit, to be followed by going to the Middle East, is also a sign of not only the political, friendly relations between the two countries, but also of shared values, “of sharing a goal of maybe not being the biggest by size or by population, but being the ones listening, trying to understand, proposing, mediating and being there.”

“We can’t choose our neighbours but we can build our future and this is what we are strong in.”

He then thanked Cyprus for its support for the Middle East. “You are closer than we are, but you are also the bridge between the different parts,” he said.

“When we see what is happening not that far away from here, we should realise how maybe not the biggest country can be useful to bring bigger countries together.”

Bettel also referred to the Cyprus problem, noting that Luxembourg will continue its support. “We need a peaceful negotiation, a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution based on international law.”

Both ministers agreed that bilateral relations – established almost 55 years ago – can be further strengthened in the fields of education, culture and investments.

Kombos said within the EU both are trying to make their presence bigger than their size.

He also expressed their common belief that the future of the European Union requires that they remain fully committed to the values that underpin the European family, and that what has been achieved all these years should never be taken for granted. “The threats are there, the challenges fully remain”, he stressed.