‘We are doing everything we can’ for Middle East de-escalation, Christodoulides says

Cyprus is doing all it can in its endeavours to bring about a de-escalation of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, President Nikos Christodoulides said during a visit to the Alevga army camp, which is located in in the Tillyria region.

“Some international initiatives are underway to lead us to de-escalation. This is the main issue at the moment, and I hope that these initiatives will bear fruit. Beyond that, our country is not in any way part of the crisis,” he said.

He stressed that, given that Cyprus is “part of the geography of the region” and the current holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency, “we are doing everything we can to achieve the main objective, which is de-escalation”.

To this end, Cyprus was this week one of the 11 countries which signed a joint declaration which called directly on Israel to “refrain from any further escalation of the conflict” in Lebanon, with Israel having advanced its invasion into the south of the country and a million people having been displaced so far.

All 11 countries declared their “full support for the Lebanese government and people” and said that the people of Lebanon are “once again suffering the dramatic consequences of a war they did not choose.

The statement also offered solidarity with “the civilian populations affected by this war in both Lebanon and Israel”, before pointing the finger at Lebanese insurgent group Hezbollah, labelling the group as “responsible for the situation”.

“We strongly condemn Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel in support of Iran; they must cease immediately. The priority is to avoid a further escalation of the regional conflict with Iran,” they said.

They then heaped praise on the Lebanese government, which has called for direct negotiations with the Israeli government with the aim of bringing about an end to the conflict, describing that offer as “historic and courageous”.

On this front, they said that “the only way to protect the country from foreign interference is to strengthen Lebanon’s state, institutions, and sovereignty”.

“In this regard, we call for direct political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, which will help bring a lasting end to this conflict and create conditions for peaceful regional coexistence,” they said.

They then called on the Lebanese authorities to “continue adopting the necessary financial and economic reforms” so as to “enable the Lebanese security forces to become, in the long term, the sole independent guarantors of Lebanon’s sovereignty”.

“We call on parties to de-escalate tensions and respect the cessation of hostilities agreement and United Nations security council resolution 1701,” they said.

Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, stipulates that there be no armed forces in southern Lebanon south of the Litani river other than the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) and the Lebanese military.

It calls for the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Lebanon and the withdrawal of Hezbollah from all areas south of the Litani.

Israel and Lebanon have not engaged in direct negotiations of this nature since Israel invaded southern Lebanon in 1982.