French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis are arriving in Cyprus today for a meeting with the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides, as part of close coordination on developments in the region and the increased preventive measures being taken, as reported on Sunday by Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis.
The leaders of Greece and France will pay a short visit to Paphos, during which they will review regional developments together with the President of the Republic.
Moreover, according to circles close to the Elysee, "President Macron's visit to Paphos expresses France's solidarity with Cyprus, a member state of the European Union, with which we have an agreement of strategic importance and which was hit last week by many drones and missiles."
The same sources reported that the purpose of the visit is to strengthen, together with European partners, security in the Cyprus and eastern Mediterranean region, with the aim of de-escalating the crisis in the region.
This visit will also allow the French President to underline how important it is to ensure freedom of navigation in the region, mainly with the EU's "Shield" naval operation, the same sources said, who at the same time underline that the visit will provide the opportunity to coordinate efforts regarding the safety of European citizens who are in dangerous areas, as well as regarding their repatriation operations.
Moreover, according to information from the Greek Government, Mr. Mitsotakis' visit is part of the defense assistance that Greece provides to Cyprus.
It is recalled that in his weekly post on Facebook, the Prime Minister of Greece stated that last week "we saw how the upgrading of our national diplomacy and defense in recent years is being transformed into security and solidarity in practice."
"Because, as soon as the conflict in the Middle East threatened the Hellenism of Cyprus, Greece stood, without a second thought, by its side. Our example was followed by our other partners, spreading a European aeronautical protection network around the island. The obvious was thus confirmed: when European territory is at risk from external dangers, then our common response cannot but be immediate and strong," noted Mr. Mitsotakis.
Source: KYPE
