Cyprus is in contact with states, with which it cooperates for the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza, so that very soon, with the completion of the work done in Gaza by the US, the mission of aid from Cyprus will resume, stated today Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis.

They are in warehouses in Cyprus about 1,000 tons of aid destined for the people of Gaza who are on the brink of starvation after months of war and siege. This amount of aid remains in Cyprus following the decision by World Central Kitchen (WCK) to stop and review its activity in the region following the death of its workers by Israeli bombing on 1 April.

The US plans to set up a dock, with a target date of May 1, on the shores of the Mediterranean in the Palestinian enclave that will allow pre-screened aid deliveries to Cyprus, with Israeli oversight.

With this in place, Cyprus expects aid to resume soon, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis said.

Nikos Christodoulidis said that as a country that maintains excellent relations with all the neighboring states, as a member state of the EU, which borders this region, “we try – always within the framework of our possibilities without exaggeration, the possibilities of a small member state – to do everything possible to address this humanitarian crisis that is developing in the region and it was important that our country managed to offer an alternative, complementary option to the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza.”

The Cypriot president emphasized that Nicosia is in contact with the states with which it cooperated from the beginning, for the implementation of this effort, so that very soon with the completion of the work done in Gaza by the US, the mission will resume humanitarian aid from Cyprus.

Referring to turning 50 years old since the Turkish invasion and occupation, President Christodoulidis said that the desire of the Greek Cypriot side for the liberation and reunification of the homeland is a given, to add that “we are doing everything possible to achieve this goal, since in addition to many other negative effects , the passage of time creates new accomplishments that make our effort even more difficult.” He said that the Cyprus issue is at a “critical juncture”, explaining that “there is an ongoing effort on the part of the United Nations to restart the talks”.

“We are,” he said, “in constant coordination with the Greek government and through you I thank the Greek government and the Greek people who have always stood by us in this effort. We are at a critical juncture, I know this phrase is often heard, but indeed at this stage, half a century later, the juncture is critical.”

At the same time, he mentioned that this year marks 20 years since the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU, noting that “this is the most important success, at least at the diplomatic level, of the Republic of Cyprus since its foundation in 1960, a success that was made possible precisely because of of the support we had from the Hellenic Parliament when the issue of EU enlargement was being discussed”.

“And Cyprus succeeded despite the objections of some, despite the contrary assessments that it could not become a member of the EU with the Cyprus issue unresolved. We are trying to use our membership in the EU to achieve our number one goal and priority, which is the resolution of the Cyprus issue,” he said.