Cyprus and Syria strengthen ties

SYRIAN PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad became the first Syrian head of state to visit Cyprus yesterday, resulting in the signing of five agreements between the two countries and pledges to work closer together on issues of common interest.

Speaking after talks with President Demetris Christofias at the presidential palace, al-Assad thanked the Cyprus government for its stance on the Golan Heights.

“Cyprus is a member of the EU and the EU does not vote in favour of the return of the Heights,” he said.

Christofias highlighted that “there can be no solution of the Middle East question without the return of the occupied Golan Heights to the country they belong”.

The Syrian leader noted that Cyprus’ geographical position allowed it to convey to the EU the issues of the region thus giving “the opportunity to other EU members to understand in depth the importance of the problems of the region and the opportunity to the EU to play the role we continuously seek, so European proposals are successful in practice”.

Speaking about Christofias’ initiative in the Cyprus peace talks, al-Assad said: “In our national issues we follow the same method, without looking at the details, and I think trust is a fundamental precondition for the successful outcome of these initiatives.”

The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in the sectors of tourism, construction, energy, transport, education, services, and telecommunications, as well as other fields in the public and private sector.

After the talks, Christofias awarded al-Assad the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III, while the Syrian leader presented Christofias with the National Order of Ummayya with the Grand Sash.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.