Cyprus ‘constantly monitoring’ events in Turkey (Updated)

 

House Speaker Demetris Syllouris, who is serving as acting president in President Nicos Anastasiades’ absence, is in constant contact with him over monitoring the latest developments in Turkey, he said in a statement on Saturday.

In the statement, Syllouris said he had chaired “a ministerial team, which was briefed by the leaderships of the security forces”, and was assured that all necessary measures were being taken.

A long meeting was also held at the foreign ministry, in which the situation in Turkey was assessed following contacts with the European Union and foreign governments.

Cypriot authorities are continuing to monitor the situation as it unfolds, Syllouris’ statement said.

A second statement later on Saturday said the acting president was in contact with the leaders of parliamentary parties, briefing them on the measures taken in Cyprus during the crisis.

President Nicos Anastasiades is currently in Mongolia for the Asia-Europe meeting, but has said he may have to cut his trip short in light of unfolding events.

Meanwhile, citing unnamed sources, the Cyprus News Agency reported that the National Guard, the police, and other forces mandated with safeguarding the country’s security, were “mobilised immediately” after the military coup attempt was launched in Turkey.

According to the sources, the coup attempt, coupled with the fact that the northern part of Cyprus is occupied by the Turkish army, prompted the immediate mobilisation of acting president Demetris Syllouris and the cabinet, especially the defence, foreign and justice ministers to take precautionary measures.

Meetings were held at the National Guard and police headquarters, where officials from the security forces reported observing “nothing of concern”.

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.