In need of one road map on how the EU will move towards the new state of affairs in Syriadepending on the positive steps the new authorities will take in relation to the political transition, the creation of an inclusive Government and respect for human rights, the Cypriot president said Nikos Christodoulidis upon his arrival at the European Council summit in Brussels.

Mr. Christodoulidis said that he will present a relevant proposal during the debate, adding that this is a message that he also brings from the states of the region.

Among other things, the Cypriot president also referred to the recent conclusions on the enlargement in relation to the Turkeybut also how he was informed by the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen about the discussion he had with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr. Christodoulidis also mentioned that “the removal of Assad, together with the removal of some countries that did not have a positive role, is a very positive development”stressing the need to ensure the country’s independence, without interference “neither from Russia, nor from Iran, nor of course from Turkey”.

The agenda of the European Council includes, in addition to the situation in Syria, the issue of immigration (for which Christodoulidis participated in a discussion of member states at the initiative of Denmark before the meeting), as well as the position of the EU in the world.

“The debate on Europe’s role in the world is of particular importance” he stressed, noting that “Our position is clearly on the need to strengthen the strategic autonomy of the European Union» which “passes through the field of defense, security, competitiveness, productivity and within a highly competitive international environment”.

As the EU, Mr. Christodoulidis, “we should not depend either on the decisions or the choices of any third countries. So the discussion is of particular importance, especially to see how we create those conditions” as the EU has “a leading role and not to follow the developments, as happens in many of the issues, especially in foreign policy issues”.

Developments in Syria

In particular for the discussion on the Syriathe Cypriot president emphasized that “no doubt we all think positive development of Assad’s removal” but how it is more important at this moment “let’s see it future of Syria and which Syria do we want?».

He reminded that the Republic of Cyprus is in a decision “less than 80 kilometers from Syria” and that “for this reason we have also submitted a specific paper for the discussion together with Greece and Austria”.

As he said, the position of Cyprus, as he conveyed it at the meeting of the European People’s Party before the summit, “it is the need to have a common approach of the 27 together with the neighboring states». He estimated that there will be “no particular American interest in the developments in Syria, but as the European Union, together with the neighboring states, we must have a common policy”.

“This is what I will present today, a road map of developments that we want to see in Syria” based on which “if there is a response from the Syrian Government, there should also be a response from our side”.

“The removal of Assad was welcomed because it also removed the leading role of some third countries in the region. We should not now see that role being replaced by Turkey claiming to play that role.” he stressed, while highlighting the importance of sovereignty, territorial integrity, the protection of minorities in the country and the need for an inclusive government.

“All this, I repeat, we must put it on a road map” and “depending on the positive developments, we also react positively as the European Union” he added, saying that “this is the message that I am also bringing from the states of the region and especially from the President of Egypt, the King of Jordan and the President of the United Arab Emirates.”

Asked to comment on what the EU expects from the new situation in Syria, the PtD referred to the territorial integrity of Syria, “the protection of the entire population an inclusive government without exclusion, the guarantee of respect for human rights, religious freedoms”, speaking of developments on which “the help that the European Union will give should also depend”.

The second important point for Cyprushe continued“it is the need to move together with the states of the region”.

“I want to repeat that the removal of Assad, together with the removal of some countries that did not have a positive role, is a very positive development and we welcome it,” he said, saying that the important thing is “to ensure what I have mentioned to you, to talk about an independent country . Neither from Russia, nor from Iran, nor of course from Turkey.”

The Cypriot president noted the special interest that Cyprus has, as well as how he is requesting the appointment of an EU special representative for Syria.

“We cannot claim a role and not have a representative on the issue of Syria. The developments are running. We have to be in front, we have to be protagonists” as he said.

The situation in Syria, according to Christodoulidis, “it is also connected to the topic of the debate on Europe’s role in the world” as “if we do not have a role in our neighborhood, we cannot claim any role in another region”.

He referred to what happened after the Arab Spring, “which was welcomed by the entire international community and in the end, in many cases we ended up having an Arab winter” and emphasized that “we don’t want to repeat phenomena worse than what existed”.

Asked if Cyprus had contact with the new Syrian authorities, the Cypriot president said that “The European Union has (contacts) at a lower level, but Cyprus, we have no contact with them.”

Asked again to comment on the next day and the future of the Russian presence in Syria, he said that “it is still too early to see what the future of Syria will be”, something he said related to the question of what Russia will do, stressing that it is important for Syria to become a free independent country.

Migration

Regarding the discussion of migratory on the occasion of the meeting of a group of states initiated by Denmark before the session, in which Cyprus also participated, the PtD stated that it was happy about the remarks of the President of the Commission in the standard information letter on the matter to the leaders.

“Until the next European in March, we expect to take concrete decisions” through “innovative ideas” that as the EU “we must process and decide on the immigration issue”which, as he pointed out, will also be touched on in the context of the political debate on the developments in Syria.

Asked how much of the discussion he was involved in with Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Malta and the Czech Republic, and the possibility of returns of refugees and asylum seekers to Syria, since 16 countries have already frozen asylum requests, mr. Christodoulidis reminded that this is something that Cyprus did “successfully six months ago”.

This decision “brought results together with some other moves we made in collaboration with the President of the Commission”, as a result of which “we have stopped the descent of migrants through the sea routes”. “We still have an issue in relation to the descent through Turkey and the crossing to the free areas through the green line” he added, noting that there was a reduction there but “we want them to end”.

He emphasized that at the moment the issue is the “voluntary returns” which “nobody can stop”and added that in Cyprus “We have almost daily voluntary returns of Syrians, either through Lebanon or through Jordan». He noted that the road map he mentioned above “it must also touch on the specific issue, because you realize that if the human rights of all minorities in Syria are not guaranteed” then “we will have a new wave of immigration”.

Conclusions for enlargement

The Cypriot president also expressed his satisfaction with the conclusions regarding the enlargement (which were approved on Tuesday by the General Affairs Council and will be approved by the leaders at the summit), “especially for Turkey” as “all the primary ones are included and not only Turkey’s obligations on the basis of the conclusions of April 2024”.

“We also heard publicly the President of the Commission in Turkey, talking about Turkey’s obligations which are a condition for progress in Euro-Turkish relations” he added.

As Christodoulidis said, he had a first briefing during the European People’s Party Conference on the discussions of Mrs. von der Leyen in Turkey, “the messages he conveyed, what he received as responses and we will continue this conversation to see the next steps.”

Ukraine

Asked about the debate on UkraineMr. Christodoulidis said that he considers the discussion that the leaders will have with President Zelensky after the election of the American President to be particularly important. “I’ve also seen an interview with the Ukrainian President on CNN that presents a road map for resolving, if you will, in quotes-without quotes, the Ukrainian” noted. In this matter he will put as he said the question “how he himself sees things developing in terms of the European Union”.

“Supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is something that is non-negotiable, but I repeat, we should not expect” the “decisions to be made in the United States,” he noted, adding that the war in Ukraine is in Europe and in the neighborhood of the EU. “We are affected more than anyone else and that’s why we need to make decisions today proactively and not react or follow the decisions.”

Asked if the EU could support Ukraine alone without the US, he referred to Tuesday’s working dinner with the NATO Secretary General, and how he expects the 27 to be informed by the participating partners about the results of the discussion and the role that NATO can play in this effort.