EU ‘cannot remain mere observers’ on Gaza, Kombos says
The European Union “cannot remain mere observers” on the matter of Gaza, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Wednesday.
“We must move in full coordination and on the basis of international law. We cannot remain mere observers,” he told the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee (Afet), before saying that Cyprus “has contributed substantially in the humanitarian field”.
In this, he was referring to the country’s Amalthea humanitarian aid corridor, and stressed that the government “will continue to make every possible effort”.
“All options for further action must be fully explored, with dialogue, optimism, and strategic flexibility, with the aim of finding solutions,” he said.
His comments come a week after the Cypriot government had announced last week that it would wait for the EU to formulate a common position before deciding whether it will join United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace.
Kombos had said at the time that “efforts are being made by Brussels to formulate a common position and stance in this regard”, and that those conversations “have not yet reached a conclusion”.
“This position of ours has been communicated to the American side. We believe that it was approached by [our] side in a very careful and balanced manner, taking into account all the necessary and applicable parameters,” he said.
To this end, he added that the government has taken a “particularly positive approach” and that potential future Cypriot participation in the Board of Peace “is something that we are discussing with the American side, as well as with friendly countries, especially within the European family”.
Reports had surfaced earlier this month claiming that Cyprus had been invited to join the board, with news website Bloomberg then reporting that each country which joins will be required to pay a $1 billion membership fee.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis then confirmed on Sunday that Cyprus had been invited to join, but said reports regarding the $1bn membership fee “do not reflect reality”. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was also invited to join the board, has since confirmed the existence of the $1bn fee.
In addition to a board of participating countries, the Board of Peace will also have a seven-member executive board, which will include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, and World Bank president Ajay Banga among its members.
According to the White House, each executive board member will “oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilisation and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilisation”.
Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, who once served as the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, was named as the board’s “high representative for Gaza”.
The White House said that he will “act as the on-the-ground link” between the Board of Peace and a new national committee for the administration of Gaza, the Palestinian-run arm of the new system of governance in Gaza, led by civil engineer Ali Shaath.
In addition, the White House said it had also created a “Gaza executive board”, which will act separately from the founding executive board, which will be charged with “supporting effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza”.
Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, and Mladenov are all also members of this board, with notable other members including incumbent UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Sigrid Kaag and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.