Cyprus a "bridge" between the different parts in Middle East, Bettel says (video)

Cyprus is a "bridge between the different parts” in the Middle East Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel said in joint comments with his 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.

The two men were speaking following a meeting they had at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Nicosia on 29 October.

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," he said.

The two Foreign Affairs Ministers said that bilateral relations can be further strengthened in the fields of education, culture, and investments, and agreed that the EU should and can do more to bring about peace in the Middle East.

In his statements after the meeting, Kombos welcomed his counterpart to Cyprus, as 2024 marks 20 years since its accession to the European Union, adding that soon the two countries will celebrate 55 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

According to the Foreign Minister, the two men agreed that there is great potential and opportunities to further expand the close cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education, culture, and investments for the mutual benefit, adding that Cyprus and Luxembourg need to work on the people-to-people and business-to-business ties and that they will be looking into ways of making this practically implementable.

On the Cyprus question, the Foreign Minister thanked Luxembourg for its “consistently principled stance”, a position, as he said, that is “guided by public international law and is aligned with the UN Security Council resolutions for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as described by those very resolutions”.

He also said they discussed issues of common interest as Member States of the EU, both trying to make their presence bigger than their size, geographical or population-wise. 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.

Finally, Minister Kombos said he discussed the situation in the Middle East with his counterpart, where, as he noted, developments are deteriorating, with severe consequences from further escalation, whether related to Lebanon or to Gaza, or even the West Bank.

“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”, he stressed in that regard, adding that Bettel will be visiting the region in the next few hours, “a very important opportunity to send those very clear messages”.

He also referred to the 28 October decision by the Israeli Knesset on UNRWA, calling the UN agency “indispensable and extremely valuable across the board, Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan”, adding that the work it is mandated to do, including delivering vital humanitarian aid in Gaza, is imperative and that the international community must do whatever it can so that it continues.

In closing, he said the two men affirmed their commitment and support to the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, “always in alignment with the EU policy”.

On his part, Xavier Bettel said that his visit is also a signal 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 noted.

Referring to his participation later in a discussion with students at the University of Cyprus, he said that we always need discussions with our citizens to explain why Europe is so important, adding that Luxembourg knows that through multilateralism and working together we get stronger.

“Celebrating 20 years of EU accession, but also 55 years next year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, it is important to see also with our Chambre of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Trade if there is an interest to grow more and to have more exchanges between the two countries”, he commented on bilateral relations. 

Regarding the Cyprus issue, he said that Cyprus has been divided for 50 years and that Luxembourg will continue its support. “We need a peaceful negotiation, a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution based on international law. International law is the backbone of an international community. I know that the United Nations is not always the easiest solution, but it is the place where we need to have these discussions and also the implementation of the solutions that we have”, he added on the matter.

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 noted, while also expressing his appreciation for Foreign Minister Kombos’ statement on UNRWA.

“Without UNRWA there is no education, there is no health, there is no food, and we will continue to support UNRWA. I will meet the President of the Knesset, I will meet also the Minister of Foreign affairs in Israel and the Prime Minister in Palestine, and we will also visit UNRWA. We won't cancel the UNRWA meeting because of the decisions of the Knesset. It is important to continue. There is no alternative if you know the situation on the ground, also for the Palestinians”, he stressed on the matter.

“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. We have for the moment the situation in Ukraine, because we speak about the Middle East, but we should not forget the situation in Ukraine. What will be the impact of the North Korean presence now in Ukraine? What will be the situation in a lot of African countries? What will be the situation in the Middle East? We have as many conflicts as we haven't seen for a long time and it is our duty as politicians to try to avoid conflicts and not to provoke new ones”, he noted in that regard.

Asked about the current level of bilateral relations, Kombos said that numbers do not tell the whole story and that the two countries, having very similar economic models, can identify many opportunities for cooperation and synergies.

He further described the countries’ political relations as “excellent”, adding that Luxembourg has been “a most consistent friend both in Brussels and broadly”, as both countries share core values acting as a compass, namely international law, dialogue, diplomacy and doing whatever they can in problematic situations and crises.

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

On another question about the EU’s role in the Middle East and what initiatives it is taking as a bloc to bring about peace in the region, Bettel said there is no common bloc in the EU when it comes to foreign policy and 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-states 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 stressed.

Replying to the same question, Kombos said that the EU has failed to play the role that it can in terms of its presence and 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, also noting that in the meantime, at the bilateral level, as member states, everyone is trying to do what they think is better and this is something important as well. "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 noted.

"It is a very difficult task and it is getting more difficult every day because there are events happening on the ground that could escalate the situation even further and this is not just a repletion of what we experienced in the past, this time it is different and we need to respond to the challenge,” he concluded.

(Source: CNA)