The crisis in Syria has been included in the European Council agenda at the request of Cyprus, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday, pointing out that the country’s new government would need all the help it could get, including that of Cyprus, which was encouraging Syrians to return home.

When asked by journalists if Cyprus intended to facilitate the safe repatriation of Syrians, Christodoulides said the Republic of Cyprus had decided to do so a few months ago.

Christodoulides said that, “yes, we are encouraging their return.

“Let me remind you that when we had a mass influx from Lebanon, the government decided to postpone examining applications and many then criticised us. Today we see other EU member states following suit,” he said.

“I have spoken with the deputy migration minister and I have already informed the European Commission president – we had a telephone conversation a couple of days ago – that the Republic of Cyprus will encourage return. We also have the scheme for voluntary returns,” he said.

The president added that, following the telephone conversation with the Commission president, a teleconference was held in the presence of the justice minister, the deputy migration minister and the deputy European affairs minister “to help those in our country return to Syria.”

“From thereon, there is the political dimension,” he said, adding that the issue has been included in the European Council agenda at his request.

Christodoulides said that the EU as a whole must look into how the crisis is developing and that things are not yet clear.

He said Cyprus is following developments.

Whichever way things go, he said, “nothing should deviate from the framework of international legality.”

Christodoulides said the new government in Syria “will need the help of the international community, including the European Union, including the Republic of Cyprus, to stand on its own two feet, to return to the international scene.”