Cyprus has voted in favour of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination after a resolution was put to the United Nations’ general assembly’s third committee in New York.

The resolution, put forward by Armenia, China, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Norway, Russia, and Vietnam, was passed with 164 votes in its favour, eight against, and nine abstentions.

Alongside its statement reaffirming “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine”, it said it “urges all states and the specialised agencies and organisations of the UN to continue to support and assist the Palestinian people in the early realisation of their right to self-determination”.

Votes against the resolution came from Argentina, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, and the United States.

Cyprus first recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, shortly after its official declaration of independence on November 15 that year.

In 2012, Cyprus voted in favour of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution which granted the State of Palestine observer status at the UN. Following the adoption of this resolution, Cyprus upgraded the status of the Palestinian delegation in Nicosia to a full embassy.

Cyprus’ official position on the issue of the Israel-Palestine question is that it “supports a comprehensive and final two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent and viable Palestinian state.”

More recently, the island has attempted to position itself as what Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos described as “a bridge of cooperation between international partners” in the Middle East, attending October’s summit in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh in October to discuss the future of Gaza.

There, President Nikos Christodoulides said he had submitted “six initiatives the Republic of Cyprus can undertake” based on Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza’s future.

Cypriot government sources told the Cyprus Mail at the time that those six initiatives were based on three subjects: security, humanitarian aid and reconstruction, and that they had been submitted in the form of a letter to the European Union and the UN in Sharm El-Sheikh, while copies had also been distributed to the summit’s other attendees.

The letter, they said, spoke of how Cyprus can “utilise our geographical position” to contribute to the future of Gaza, “just as we did for the Amalthea initiative” – Cyprus’ maritime humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza.

“Right now, there are no details, as the details will come about based on how and when we are needed and how the peace plan is implemented. Based on the plan, and based on the implementation of the plan, the details will come later,” they said.

“We are basically saying, ‘whatever help you may need, we are here to utilise our geographical position and the fact that we are accepted by both Israel and Palestine, and by the Arab states, to offer what we can to help’.”

Christodoulides had earlier said that he wanted “Cypriot companies to have a role in the reconstruction” of Gaza.

Last month, Kombos had said that Cyprus “maintains a strategic relationship with Israel, which covers issues of mutual interest, especially in the sectors of energy, defence, and trade”.