Consultations on Nicosia's proposal for the creation of a maritime humanitarian corridor from Cyprus to Gaza continue both in Nicosia and through the ongoing contacts of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kobos, both with visits and telephone communications with his counterparts, said the KYPE Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Theodoros Gotsis.
Mr. Gotsis stated that following the initiative of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, in the context of the European Council held in Brussels last week, and the proposal to create a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza, the Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Jordan yesterday and today he is visiting Ramallah for contacts with his counterparts from Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, in the context of the promotion of this initiative and the continuous contact with the actors in the region to strengthen efforts to de-escalate and prevent further expansion of the conflict.
Mr. Gotsis pointed out that there has already been a series of contacts with all the involved states of the region, as well as EU officials at the highest level, as well as with other interested parties and competent international organizations.
"The parameters of the initiative and the plan being developed have received a positive response and have already moved to the next stage", he added, noting that "consultations on this matter continue both in Nicosia and through the ongoing contacts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs both with visits and with telephone communications with his counterparts".
Asked about the preparations being made for the possibility that citizens of foreign countries need to be received in Cyprus in order to move to other countries, Mr. Gotsis emphasized that coordination and preparation are continuing for the possibility that another number of foreign citizens need to be evacuated from the area.
He added that "the presence of executives in Cyprus from other countries takes place within the framework of our bilateral and multilateral cooperation within the framework of the relevant international coordination center for the evacuation of civilians from crisis areas (Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation Coordination Center - NEOCC), within the framework of activation of the Special National Plan "ESTIA".
In relation to the updated Travel Directive issued yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Lebanon, Mr. Gotsis stated that it follows the Ministry's call for days to avoid non-essential travel to countries in the region, noting that now a recommendation is being made to Cypriots citizens to avoid all travel to Lebanon.
He said that given the current conditions in Lebanon, there have been no requests to the Cyprus Embassy in Beirut from people who have Cypriot citizenship – several of whom have dual citizenship – related to the effects of the conflict.
Mr. Gotsis mentioned that when the war broke out there were Cypriot visitors to Lebanon who left the country.
He added that in any case those Cypriots living in Lebanon are invited to prefer registering on the Connect2CY platform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Embassy remains at their disposal to provide any consular assistance they may need, he concluded.
Source: KYPE