Andreas Pimpisis
The changes that have taken place in the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs, in Washington and Nicosia, in the last year, do not seem to affect the deepening of the cooperation between Cyprus and the USA. This emerges from the result of the contacts so far of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulidis, in Washington.
At the meeting, Anthony Blinken and Ioannis Kasoulidis clarified that the United States remains committed to deepening cooperation within the 3 + 1 mechanism with the participation of both Israel and Greece. At the same time, the American side clarified, regarding the Cyprus issue, that it supports a solution of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation. The Cypriot Foreign Minister informed his American counterpart about the Confidence Building Measures that President Anastasiadis wants to promote, especially regarding the Famagusta region.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said after the meeting that Mr Blinken congratulated Mr Kasoulides on his return to the State Department and reiterated the US commitment to deepen co-operation with the Republic of Cyprus. of the 3 + 1 mechanism with Greece and Israel.
READ ALSO:
Kasoulidis in the US for contacts and talks with Blinken Kasoulidis meeting with Nancy Pelosi USA: Commitment to deepen cooperation with KD
Blinken and Kasoulides “discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues, including the importance of coordinating actions in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. “They also stressed the importance of increasing scientific cooperation on issues such as climate change and emerging technology through the forthcoming signing of a bilateral Science and Technology Agreement,” Ned Price added.
He also said that Anthony Blinken expressed US continued support for the Cypriot leadership, under the auspices of the UN, efforts to reunite the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality for the benefit of all Cypriots.
In statements before the meeting, Mr. Blinken, welcoming Mr. Kasoulidis to the State Department, referred to “familiar territory” for the Cypriot Foreign Minister. “The Secretary of State recently took office, but for the third time,” he said, adding that he was pleased with the relationship between the United States and Cyprus.
“I think the bilateral relationship is stronger than ever. We see cooperation in a whole range of areas, including security but also science and technology. “It really runs through the whole range,” Mr Blinken said.
Referring to the efforts for the settlement of the Cyprus problem, the American Foreign Minister said that “we remain resolutely in favor of the support of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and we will continue to work in this direction. “And I have to say that we were pleased with the renewal of the mandate at the United Nations just a week ago.” Mr. Kasoulidis, for his part, stated that he intends to use this meeting to identify and explore areas where they can make this relationship even stronger and even deeper.
In addition, in his statements, the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dimitris Dimitriou, characterized as very good the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and the USA.
As he told KYPE, Mr. Blinken congratulated Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis on his return to the Foreign Ministry and reiterated the US commitment to deepen cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus. Among other things, he continued, the two ministers talked about the 3 + 1 mechanism with Greece and Israel and jointly expressed the view of returning to the agreement on political dynamics.
The two ministers, Mr. Dimitriou said, discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues, including the importance of co-ordinating actions in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The US Secretary of State expressed the United States' continued support for efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue under the auspices of the United Nations, in a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality for the benefit of all Cypriots, and Mr. Kasoulides conveyed the President Varosia, concluded Mr. Dimitriou.
They recommend attention to MOEs
DIKO and EDEK with their announcements recommend attention to the promotion of confidence building measures. DIKO states that the MOE “should not be such as to undermine the institutions of the Republic of Cyprus and should not be such as to remove the motive for resolving the Cyprus problem”. DIKO finds that “in recent years all the MOEs that have been promoted, undermine the institutions of the KD and upgrade the institutions of the pseudo-state, thus encouraging the Turkish position that its policy achieves a two-state solution.” Finally, he emphasizes that any MOEs that may be promoted, should facilitate the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue and not replace them.
EDEK, for its part, emphasizes that “the emergence of the MOE diverts the Cypriot issue from its proper basis, as a problem of invasion, continued occupation and ethnic cleansing, contributes to the capitalization of additional benefits to the occupation regime and helps extend the gap.” Regarding the illegal airport of Tympos, EDEK reiterates its proposal to take specific legal measures against the operation of the illegal airport and in fact to investigate possibilities of appealing and taking legal measures against companies that use it illegally.
ELAM states that the MOE “is a strong proof of the political and diplomatic failure of the Republic of Cyprus, as the Cyprus issue is not an internal difference between two communities.”
Meeting with Pelozi
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, sent a clear message regarding the importance of the multilateral approach on the basis of rules, human rights and democracy, in her meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulidis.
In a post on Twitter, Ioannis Kasoulidis said that he feels “privileged” for their meeting. He thanked Ms. Pelosi “for her clear message about the importance of pluralism in the rule of law and her strong focus on democracy and human rights.”
He added that “full respect for these values is crucial for Cyprus in its quest for regional peace and stability.”
