Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos said on Friday that we are faced with an opponent today who has nothing to do with Turkey of previous years, noting that we are under an existential threat and that the Republic of Cyprus is making daily efforts to address the situation.
Presenting the Ministry’s budget before the House Finance Committee, he noted that Turkey is currently the number one exporter in the world and the ninth largest exporter of weapons systems in the world. He said that in the drone industry, Turkish companies hold 60% of the global market in specific categories of drones, while he also spoke about the development and use of soft diplomacy tools by Turkey through religious and educational institutions.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that ‘we are under existential threat, there is the occupying power, there is the daily questioning of the existence of the Republic of Cyprus’ and that ‘we have an adversary opposite us, which has nothing to do with Turkey of previous years.’
He said that from the perspective of the Republic of Cyprus there is a daily effort to deal with the situation and that our approach ‘has to do with the effort to increase our diplomatic presence and our diplomatic footprint’. Our effort, he added, is ‘to highlight our own added value’.
Referring to the objectives of the foreign policy, he noted the protection at all costs of the Republic of Cyprus, highlighting the continuous efforts by the Turkish side to upgrade the illegal occupying entity in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of Turkic States, the Council of Europe, but also at a bilateral level.
In relation to the creation of conditions beneficial for the reunification of Cyprus, he said that “there is mobility that was created following our own initiatives and we want to strengthen it and intensify it so that we can move towards substantive negotiations.”
He also referred to the country’s commitment to the Western orientation and the consolidation of the relationship with the US, to the steady deepening of excellent relations with states in our region, to the strategic upgrading of relations with the UK and to the strategic deepening of relations with France, and to the very significant strengthening of the relationship with India, which he described as an extremely important country.
This year, he noted, has been determined as year of Africa, given the difficult conditions there as a result of the very active presence and extremely intense activity of Turkey. He added that an Africa Department has been created in the Ministry and that the opening of an Embassy in Ethiopia has been approved by the Council of Ministers. He also referred to his own visits to African countries, while pointing out that in the immediate future leaders from African countries will visit Cyprus.
The Foreign Minister said that Turkey is attempting to join the EU defence structures and in particular SAFE (Security Action for Europe) and has an active request for this. However, as he pointed out, if Turkey wishes to receive direct funding, it must go through the conditions, one of which is the conclusion of a bilateral agreement, while another condition is that the applicant cannot threaten the vital interests of a member state.
“Our position is very clear that Turkey cannot proceed,” he said, noting that the implementation of SAFE requires unanimity.
Regarding the relations between Nicosia and Athens, he said that there is a relationship of brotherly states and that communication and coordination are daily at all levels. Kombos said that an intergovernmental conference will be held in Athens on Wednesday.
Moreover, asked by reporters after the House Committee session if there is a revival of the EastMed project given yesterday’s meeting of the 3+1 (Cyprus, Greece, Israel + USA) at the level of Energy Ministers in Athens, Kombos said that yesterday’s meeting is of particular importance because it constitutes a revival of the scheme with all that this entails in terms of symbolism and substance, and noted that this is a ‘very important development’.
He said that in the joint statement issued later, there are references that can be interpreted as to the direction that this cooperation can take with projects that have clear and specific content.
The Foreign Minister pointed out that the next meeting has been scheduled and therefore there will be a follow-up. Kombos underlined that our intention -in cooperation with the other participating countries- is to upgrade it at a political level from the 3+1 format at the level of Foreign Ministers.
‘So it is a development that is of particular interest and importance,’ he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 2026 amounts to pound 131,734,795. Kombos said that compared to the budgets of previous years, from 2023 there is an increase in the Ministry’s budget by 28%.
The binding expenditure amounts to 85.3% or pound 112.4 million of the total budget. Non-binding expenses amount to only 14.7% or pound 19.3 million, of which 6.6% or pound 8.7 million concern operating expenses of the Administration (Center) and Diplomatic Missions.
Regarding Cyprus’ accession to the US Visa Waiver Program, the Foreign Minister said that the technical evaluation has been completed in the end of May, and the program is under general evaluation at the Law Office in terms of its interconnection with the US immigration policy and that the dialogue with the US Government on this issue continues.
Referring to the issue of Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen zone, Kombos said that the effort for full integration continues at a rapid pace. “We want to have a positive technical evaluation by December” he said, noting that this is not easy.
As regards the Cyprus problem, he said that the new Turkish Cypriot leader signals a change but noted that the issue at the moment is how the Turkish position is being shaped and whether there is any shift in it and how the new Turkish Cypriot leader positions himself.
He noted that ‘the framework that guides and binds us is exclusively that of the UN Security Council’ and pointed out that there is a very rich aquis in the negotiating process that no one can ignore.
‘We are waiting for Holguin and we are ready to start a substantive dialogue as soon as possible’, he stressed referring to the UNSG’s Personal Envoy for the Cyprus issue Maria Angela Holguin.
The aim, he continued, is to resume substantive negotiations and we are working towards this goal. He said that the Greek Cypriot side is taking initiatives and that we are in a preliminary process for the resumption of talks.
Regarding relations with Syria, he said that we are seeking good neighbourly relations based on international law. He also stated that a commitment has emerged from the President of Syria to begin negotiations on demarcation and this is something that we will insist on.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. An informal meeting in broader format is expected later this year.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.