Syria neighbours worry over regional instability

FOREIGN Minister Marcos Kyprianou yesterday voiced concern over the possibility of an influx of refugees from neighbouring Syria fleeing a state crackdown on anti-government protesters.

“The ministry is already studying various plans on how to react if there is a crisis in Syria,” Kyprianou said.

Speaking on the sidelines of an informal conference with his counterparts from Israel, Malta, Greece and the Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister, Kyprianou said the situation in Syria was being handled by the European Union.

“We have an open dialogue with Syria; we have a special relationship and I am conveying … the views and positions of the EU in a more convincing and frank manner,” the Cypriot top diplomat said.

Kyprianou said Israel was concerned about the situation in the region and not just Syria.

“The issue of Syria also concerns Cyprus and it was one of the matters focused upon during our discussions,” Kyprianou said.

The conference, held in Limassol, had no agenda and no minutes were kept, with ministers exchanging views on the various aspects of the developments in the region.

“We exchange views on all matters of mutual interest, regional and international and of course, focus on developments in our area … which directly affect our countries,” Kyprianou said during a lunchtime break. “We focused on the political developments in our area – the effects on our countries from migration because of the situation in the Mediterranean region.”

The minister said it was useful and necessary to have Israel’s views – a country located in the middle of the region, which will inevitably be affected by any developments.

The ministers agreed that it would be useful to continue this form of meetings as it was especially useful that a small group of countries to meet and exchange views.

The objective is to form a clearer picture of the situation in the area – “we do not aim in arriving at specific decisions,” Kyprianou said.

 

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.