Cyprus can play a “very significant role” in a future peace process between Palestinians and Israelis, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday, as he attended a working lunch held at Cyprus’ presidential palace.

“You can play a very significant role. I will not dwell on the excellent relationship which exists between the Palestinian people and the Cypriot people and the Republic of Cyprus, but you also maintain excellent relations, and rightly so, with Israel,” he said.

As such, he said, “you can play a role in mediating between the two sides, based on a political solution rooted in international legitimacy and United Nations security council resolutions”.

Regarding relations between Palestine and Cyprus, he said that “the Palestinian people not only sense their geographical proximity to the Cypriot people, but also perceive a genuine warmth, an existential, human bond, with them”.

He then referred to wider recognition being offered to the Palestinian state by other countries in Europe in recent years, saying that “for some time now, there have been significant developments regarding the European position on the Palestinian issue”.

“By way of example, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have expressed positions which are nearly identical to the Palestinian stance. This is particularly gratifying for us, as Europe, in general, can play a vital role in reaching a settlement and establishing peace in the region,” he said.

Cyprus ‘conveys concerns of states in region to Europe’

A greater European role in matters, he added, “would benefit all the countries in the region”.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, meanwhile, said that “the Republic of Cyprus stands ready to play any role you deem appropriate in fostering cooperation within our region”, and that “this is precisely what we strive to achieve through our foreign policy”.

“At the same time, as a European Union member state in this region, we convey the concerns of states in the region to Europe, while simultaneously representing the European Union within the region. We are pleased that this role we have undertaken has been recognised by other member states, as well as by EU institutions,” he said.

He added that “we cannot change geography” and said that for this reason “we must all work together, based on a positive agenda and a positive approach, to achieve our common goals.”