The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis, welcomed, today, at the Presidential Palace, the Prime Ministers of Greece and Israel, in the context of the 9th Tripartite Summit of Cyprus – Greece – Israel that is being held in Nicosia.

The first to arrive at the Presidential Palace was the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was welcomed by the President of the Republic.

Afterwards, the two leaders had a private meeting.

Welcoming the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Nikos Christodoulidis he said, among other things, that the tripartite mechanism is part of the regional partnerships that demonstrate the role that Cyprus and Greece, as EU member states, can play in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

“We will have the opportunity to discuss both the Cypriot issue and the Greek-Turkish issue. I see September and October as crucial months for how things will develop. The UN General Assembly, the meetings we will have, the October European Council are of decisive importance and we are here for such developments to take place that will lead to positive steps in both the Greek-Turkish and Cypriot issues.

The resolution of disputes, the resolution of any problems, the resolution of the Cyprus issue is of primary importance for us. The current state of affairs cannot be the future of Cyprus. What I also recently conveyed very clearly to the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations is our readiness to resume talks as soon as possible, to lead to a resolution of the Cyprus issue, which will have benefits for all parties involved. We cannot change the geography and we are here to work with all our neighbors, on the basis of international law, on the basis of data that will lead to benefits for all the peoples of the region.”

For his part, the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis he said, among other things, that Greece, Cyprus and Israel are countries of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, “a tripartite arrangement that has stood the test of time” and that has shown its usefulness both politically and economically, but also in other areas.

He added that in the Cyprus issue he subscribes to the approach of the President of the Republic that it is very important to restart the talks within the framework of the UN resolutions.

“Greece will always be a firm supporter of this position,” said Mr. Mitsotakis, adding that the next few months will also be important in terms of Greek-Turkish relations, to point out that he is facing the developments with moderate optimism. He also said that in the next few days the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece will go to Turkey, for talks with his Turkish counterpart.

Finally, Mr. Mitsotakis thanked the Republic of Cyprus for its help during the recent fires in Greece.

Afterwards, the President of the Republic welcomed the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the Presidential Palace.

Subsequently, the Prime Ministers of Greece and Israel had a private meeting which will be followed by extended talks between the delegations of Greece and Israel.

This will be followed by a tripartite private meeting of the President of the Republic and the Prime Ministers of Greece and Israel, before they sit down in extended talks of the delegations of the three countries.

Afterwards, the three leaders will give statements to the media.