The Ministry of the Interior has information about a few hundred Syrian refugees who are on the coast of Lebanon, the relevant authorities have been informed and are on standby, but the Minister Constantinos Ioannou notes once again that the possibilities of Cyprus are limited. It calls on the EU to support the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus financially and with infrastructure.
In statements on Tuesday, as part of a press conference on the housing policy, and asked about the situation due to the conflict in Israel and Lebanon, the Minister of the Interior said that "all this time we managed to significantly reduce the flows through the occupied, but there are new data due to the developments in Israel and Gaza, especially regarding Lebanon."
He explained that due to the possible involvement of Lebanon but also due to the war situation in general, Beirut's efforts to monitor its territorial waters and prevent the sailing of vessels are further weakened.
"And we have information that there are several hundred, possibly, Syrian refugees off the coast of Lebanon, we have conveyed that information to the authorities and we are on alert and have a plan to manage the increased arrivals," he said.
But as we have emphasized to the EU, he added, "the capabilities of the state are specific, if and as long as there are large flows we expect from the EU financial support and facilities."
"We are ready as a state to help, as is our duty and as it should be done, but our possibilities are limited," he said.
Mr. Ioannou noted that the measures taken all this time, with the exception of the increase now due to the war situation, have so far brought a 50% reduction in arrivals. He added that arrivals from the Green Line were down around 65-70%.
He further explained that the measures taken by the Republic of Cyprus in conjunction with the EU Eastern Mediterranean Action Plan have brought results. "The informal adoption of measures already combined with our own actions have brought about a substantial reduction in flows from the occupied areas to the free areas," he said.
Source: KYPE