The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, who participated in the Informal Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU (Gymnich), held on August 30-31, 2023, in Toledo, Spain, informed his European counterparts about the incident in Pyla.

According to an official press release, the latest developments in Ukraine and the EU’s coordinated response, as well as developments in the Sahel, centered on the military coup in Niger, were on the agenda of the conference. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger, Hassoumi Massaoudou and the President of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), Omar Touray, participated in part of the discussions in the Council.

Regarding Ukraine, Kombos reiterated that Cyprus supports Ukraine and is in favour of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the humanitarian support provided by Cyprus to Ukraine to date.

Regarding the Sahel region, and specifically the latest developments in Niger, the Minister expressed Cyprus’s strong condemnation of the military coup, stressing that the democratically elected Government of Niger has the undivided solidarity of Cyprus. He also expressed the full support of Cyprus in the efforts of ECOWAS for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, with the primary objective of restoring constitutional order and the immediate release of the democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum.

It is further added that the Minister of Foreign Affairs provided an update regarding the very serious violation of the status quo of the buffer zone in the area of Pyla, as well as the organised threats and acts of violence by the occupying authorities against the peacekeepers of the United Nations. He also referred to the immediate and strong reaction of the United Nations, the EU institutions, our European partners and the international community, conveying thanks to the EU and our partners.

In conclusion, the Foreign Minister underlined that the Government remains committed to the resumption of negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue, within the agreed UN framework, stressing that the latest Turkish moves undermine the efforts made to resume negotiations and inevitably affect the future of Euro-Turkish relations.

On the sidelines of Gymnich proceedings, Kombos had contacts with a number of his counterparts from EU member states.

On Friday August 18, 2023 men of the occupation regime punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a U.N. controlled buffer zone.

The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Parikiaki.com