The Government is in contact with Lebanese authorities, Government Spokesman Constantinos Letymiotis said on Tuesday when asked about Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's call on Lebanese authorities to "open the sea" to anyone who wants to leave "for Europe, for Cyprus".
Asked by a journalist during his statements at the Presidential Palace, after the meeting of the President of the Republic with Italian MP Piero Fascino, if this statement jeopardizes the agreement between the EU and Lebanon, and the Republic of Cyprus with Lebanon, Mr. Letymiotis, said that it is a message, "which certainly should concern us and is an issue that we have very high in our priorities".
It is for this reason, he added, "that from the first moment, as the Republic of Cyprus, what we have stated is that the issue of increased immigration flows that we have seen in our country is preeminently a European issue" because what has been said in this call is that Cyprus is the closest EU Member State, "where this is the reality".
"We, for this very reason, the President of the Republic himself, had taken the initiative in time, and together with the President of the European Commission, he had gone to Lebanon a few weeks ago, to present this economic aid package where, among other things, it also includes the aid to contain the migration flows from Lebanon to Europe and especially to Cyprus", added the Spokesperson.
"We are in contact with the Lebanese authorities and we believe that through these contacts we will be able to manage this," he said.
It is noted that the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, on Monday urged the Lebanese authorities to "open the sea" to boatloads of refugees, in order to pressure Europe, which is accused by a section of the political world of Lebanon of seeking like Syrians who have taken refuge in country, remain there.
Source: KYPE
