Category: Cyprus News Agency

‘The resolution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework and the negotiating acquis, with full respect for the principles, values and law of the European Union, is at the forefront of the strategy we are following,’ President Nikos Christodoulides said Sunday during the unveiling of the Heroes of Mesogi Memorial, in the presence of the Archbishop.

‘Despite the challenges and difficulties, I remain encouraged by the commitment shown by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the European Union’, he said, adding that the Greek Cypriot side was working with ‘seriousness, methodical planning, and assertive realism’, so that this new effort leads to positive developments.

At the same time, he noted, the Government was working daily to strengthen all aspects of the country’s power and influence, both domestically and internationally, on the basis of its ideological and political framework.

‘We are pursuing an outward-looking foreign policy with a clear European and Western orientation’, he noted.

The President also said that the Government was working for a resilient and strong economy, for the modernisation of the state, with an emphasis on continuous reforms and the digital transformation of the country, ‘with transparency and accountability, and with the highest priority being the welfare of our citizens and the improvement of their everyday lives through policies relating to healthcare, education, housing and the welfare state’.

With the economy serving as the spearhead of these efforts – ‘according to the European Union, our economy is among the strongest in Europe – combined with our actions at the international level, which enhance the standing of the Republic of Cyprus and make us proud, we are moving forward with seriousness and credibility, transforming Cyprus and making it stronger’, the President said.

The Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Michalis Damianos, departs today for an official visit to the United States, where he will hold meetings in Washington and Houston and participate in a series of high-level discussions and international energy forums, according to a Ministry statement.

According to the announcement, as part of his visit, Damianos will take part in the Ministerial Meeting of the 3+1 cooperation scheme (Cyprus, Greece, Israel and the United States), the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, the 41st Annual Conference of the International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA), and the inauguration ceremony of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center.

Specifically, on Monday the Minister will attend the EMGF Ministerial Meeting in Washington, where discussions will focus on regional energy cooperation and energy security in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the sidelines of the Meeting, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi and will also meet officials of the White House National Energy Dominance Council.

On Tuesday, he will participate in the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Business Forum organized by the Atlantic Council, focusing on investment prospects in the region’s energy sector. The same day, he will address the 41st Annual PSEKA Conference, outlining developments regarding the exploitation of hydrocarbons in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

On Wednesday, the Minister will take part in a discussion at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum on Europe’s path from the energy crisis towards a more resilient energy policy.

He will then travel to Houston, where on Thursday he will attend the 3+1 Ministerial Meeting. Talks will focus on the development of natural gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean, strengthening energy security and promoting energy interconnection projects.

During his stay in Houston, he will also participate in the inauguration of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center and hold bilateral meetings with counterparts and other officials.

The Energy Minister is due to return to Cyprus on June 13, the Ministry said.

A Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the Republic of Cyprus and France will be signed on Monday in Nicosia by the Minister of Defence, Vasilis Palmas, and his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) has learnt.

According to competent sources, the Cypriot and French Defence Ministers will sign the agreement during a bilateral meeting on Monday afternoon at the Filoxenia Conference Centre, following the conclusion of the informal Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), which will be hosted in Nicosia as part of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides had announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Nicosia in April that a SOFA agreement would be signed in June. He said that the agreement concerns hosting French forces on Cypriot territory for the purposes of humanitarian operations in the region.

The official visit to Kazakhstan is an indication of the recognition of the Republic of Cyprus’ enhanced role, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday.

This week’s official visit to Kazakhstan was ‘important’, President Christodoulides said, in statements to journalists after attending a memorial service in the community of Emba, in Paphos, and responding to a journalist’s question about the Republic of Cyprus’ outreach to Central Asia. He said that his official visit to Astana was ‘an indication of the recognition of the upgraded role of the Republic of Cyprus and of our foreign policy, which is delivering very specific positive

President Christodoulides noted that the foreign policy was also directly linked to developments at home. He recalled that he travelled to Astana on the first direct flight between Cyprus and Kazakhstan. ‘This is very important for attracting tourists and encouraging investment’, he said.

President Christodoulides also noted that he was accompanied by a strong business delegation.

‘Several meetings took place, and there is interest on the part of Kazakhstan. We therefore have a very specific plan and strategy, both in domestic and foreign policy, which are closely interconnected. I am pleased by the positive response we are seeing and by the recognition of our country and of the standing of the Republic of Cyprus’, he added.

He further noted that this was the first visit by a President of the Republic of Cyprus to a country in what he described as ‘the Turkic region’.

He added that, by decision of the President of Kazakhstan, he was awarded a significant honour, ‘which I accepted on behalf of the Cypriot people, and we continue to build on these relations’.

He referred to his visit last May to India, noting that ‘more will follow’, which enhance the standing of the Republic of Cyprus, ‘support our major efforts at home and, at the same time, strengthen our negotiating position in relation to efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue’.

The Central Asian region has emerged as one of the key priorities of Cyprus’ foreign policy, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Sunday, as he continues his tour of the region.

The Foreign Minister completed the second leg of his visit to Central Asian countries on Sunday and was to depart from Uzbekistan for Kyrgyzstan.

The tour follows the first-ever visit, earlier this week, by a President of the Republic of Cyprus to Kazakhstan, during which a business forum was held and the Embassy of Cyprus in Astana was officially inaugurated.

Asked by CNA, Kombos stressed that the main objective of his tour is to strengthen bilateral relations with the countries of the region and to create additional opportunities for mutual investment and economic cooperation. After all, he noted, the foreign and domestic policy dimensions ‘are closely interconnected’.

He said that, in Tajikistan, where he paid the first-ever visit by a Cypriot Foreign Minister to the country, he had the opportunity to meet his counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, the Speaker of the Lower House, Faizali Idizoda, and was also received by the President of the Republic, Emomali Rahmon.

The signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Higher Education and Research, establishing a framework for enhanced cooperation in higher education, academic exchanges and scientific research, was ‘of particular significance’, he said.

Kombos noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has awarded a significant number of scholarships to citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan over the past two years.

He also visited Uzbekistan, his second visit there following his first trip to the country two years ago. The Foreign Minister told CNA that the initial visit was followed by an intensification of bilateral contacts, including rounds of political consultations and a visit by a business delegation.

In Tashkent, Kombos met with his counterpart, Bakhtiyor Saidov, with whom, he noted, maintains regular contact, both on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly and at various international forums.

The Foreign Minister was due to depart for Kyrgyzstan on Sunday afternoon, where he will meet his counterpart, Zheenbek Kulubaev, and other officials on Monday.

Asked about the objectives of the tour, Kombos underlined that Central Asia has become ‘one of the key priorities’ of Cyprus’ foreign policy over the past two years. In addition to Cyprus’ ‘consistent engagement in the region’, he said, opportunities are being created for the business community to establish partnerships in an area of significant geopolitical and economic importance.

At the same time, he added, ‘the political reasons linked to our national issue are clearly a guiding factor in this approach, producing tangible results, such as the EU-Central Asia Joint Declaration of April 2025, which contains specific references to the Cyprus issue’.

The Foreign Minister further stressed that all Central Asian countries have aligned themselves with the joint declarations adopted at both the EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting in March 2025 and the EU-Central Asia Summit in April 2025, which contain explicit references to respect for the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, as well as explicit references to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984), which, as is well known, he said, relate exclusively to Cyprus.

‘The expansion of our diplomatic footprint constitutes a strategic compass for the conduct of our foreign policy, particularly in regions with inherent sensitivities’, Kombos said.

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 that was expected to take place before the end of 2025, is yet to be announced. María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties.

The Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr Vasiliki Kassianidou inaugurated on Friday at Picasso Museum, in Barcelona an exhibition titled ‘Picasso and Cyprus: Encounters with Ceramics of the Mediterranean,’ pointing out that the juxtaposition of ancient Cypriot artefacts and Picasso’s work, speaks not only to artistic influence, but also to the enduring capacity of culture to transcend time, geography, and ideology.

The Deputy Minister of Culture said in a press release on Saturday that the exhibition, was organized as part of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026.

”In the exhibition, a selection of Picasso’s ceramic works is brought into dialogue with clay vessels from ancient Cyprus, where earlier forms, techniques and symbols are strongly connected with Picasso’s experimentation in clay. A continuity of ideas is created from the ancient Cypriot vessels to Picasso’s ceramic works, reminding us that antiquity and modernity are not opposing concepts, but parts of a continuous cultural conversation,” the press release noted.

In her address, the Deputy Minister of Culture expressed her gratitude to everyone involved in organizing the exhibition – the Department of Antiquities, the Embassy of Cyprus in Spain and all collaborators at Museu Picasso. She stressed that ‘the Cyprus Presidency is anchored in the vision of a European Union that is stronger, more resilient, socially cohesive and strategically autonomous to create a Europe that invests in people, in memory, in creation and in culture’. She also stressed that ‘one of the primary goals has been to strengthen the bonds within the Union by promoting culture as a vital instrument of political cohesion and a powerful expression of our shared European identity’.

Referring to the concept of the exhibition, Dr Kassianidou pointed out that ‘the juxtaposition of ancient Cypriot artefacts and Picasso’s work, speaks not only to artistic influence, but also to the enduring capacity of culture to transcend time, geography, and ideology’, reminding us that Europe’s cultural fabric is not static; it is woven through continuous exchanges, reinterpretations, and creative transformations.

In conclusion, the Deputy Minister referred to the power of culture to act as a medium of soft diplomacy and as an essential tool for fostering mutual understanding and solidarity among peoples.

The ceremony was held in the presence of representatives from the local government of Catalonia, the local authorities of Barcelona, as well as distinguished guests from the diplomatic corps, the cultural and artistic community.

The exhibition, that was curated by the Curator of Antiquities, Eftychia Zachariou, the art historian Dr Androula Michael and the former director of Picasso Museu in Barcelona, Dr Emmanuel Guigon. It will remain open to the public until 27 September 2026.

More information can be found on the website of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency https://cyculture2026.eu/ and on Museu Picasso’s website: https://museupicassobcn.cat/

The Ministry of Agriculture announced that the culling of 6,650 animals across Cyprus was completed early Saturday morning in order to contain foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Demetris Tsaltas, member of the Epidemiological Team, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the culling in Pachna was completed on Friday, with the exception of fat-tailed sheep, a rare indigenous breed.

Meanwhile, the 500,000 doses of vaccines for ruminant animals will be received on Sunday, the President of the Pancyprian Veterinary Association, Dr. Demetris Epaminondas, told CNA.

According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture, a total of approximately 6,650 animals were culled in the districts of Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca, with the goal being achieved within two days.

‘To achieve this goal, Veterinary Services officers worked tirelessly, day and night, making superhuman efforts under particularly difficult conditions. Characteristically, in the Larnaca district, work in some units continued until 4 am today,’ the Ministry noted.

The Ministry added that the assistance of the Cyprus Police and the National Guard was decisive and that it allowed the rapid and effective implementation of the operational plan.

‘The cooperation of all those involved is the strongest tool for eradicating the disease, protecting the livestock sector and ensuring the country’s food security,’ the Ministry of Agriculture emphasised.

On his part, Dimitris Tsaltas, a member of the Epidemiological Team, told CNA that the culling in Pachna, Limassol District, was completed on Friday, adding that the fat-tailed sheep were exempted.

He also clarified that the culling of animals that was completed in the early hours of Saturday concerned a unit in Athienou, Larnaca District, explaining that the time delay was due to the affected livestock farmer’s appeal to the Administrative Court requesting that his unit be exempted from the culling. Tsaltas added that the Administrative Court rejected the farmer’s appeal on Friday, paving the way for the culling of animals in the unit.

Vaccines to be received tomorrow

As regards the vaccination process, the President of the Pancyprian Veterinary Association, Dr. Demetris Epaminondas, said that the 500,000 doses of vaccines for ruminant animals will be received on Sunday, adding that their customs clearance will take place next Monday or Tuesday.

Epaminondas expressed conviction that the distribution of vaccines in the districts and the vaccination of ruminant animals will begin within the week after next.

President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, is to hold a meeting on Monday morning with the UN Secretary-General Personal Envoy, María Ángela Holguín.

The meeting between President Christodoulides and Holguín at the Presidential Palace has been scheduled for 9.00 a.m. on Monday, and, according to CNA sources, it will be held privately, without the presence of any other official.

Holguín is also expected to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhrman, at 3.00 p.m. on Monday, CNA has learnt.

According to statements on Friday by UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in New York, the meetings will focus on discussing the ‘way forward’ on the Cyprus issue.

Holguín, who is expected to arrive in Cyprus on Sunday, will remain on the island until 14 June. She will then travel to Ankara and Athens for further meetings and consultations, according to Dujarric.

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 that was expected to take place before the end of 2025, is yet to be announced. María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties.

Ways to strengthen bilateral ties and regional developments were discussed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, on Friday during his visit to the Republic of Tajikistan, the first visit by a Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus to the country, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Higher Education and Research with Tajikistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry noted that the visit forms part of efforts to strengthen the diplomatic footprint of the Republic of Cyprus in Central Asia, further develop bilateral relations with Tajikistan, and promote cooperation between the European Union and the region, also in the context of Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

While in Dushanbe, as part of his Central Asia tour, Kombos was received by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon. ‘During the meeting, the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Tajikistan were reviewed, while international and regional challenges were also discussed,’ the statement said.

Kombos also held talks with Tajikistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, with whom he exchanged views on the further deepening of bilateral relations and the strengthening of cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as on regional developments. It was noted that, the two Ministers signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Higher Education and Research, establishing a framework for enhanced cooperation between the two sides on matters relating to higher education, academic exchanges and scientific research.

Cyprus’ Foreign Minister also met with the Speaker of Tajikistan’s Assembly of Representatives, Faizali Idizoda, during which ways of strengthening bilateral ties and parliamentary cooperation between Cyprus and Tajikistan were discussed, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Current and emerging security challenges will be the focus of the informal Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) taking place in Nicosia on 7-8 June, under Cyprus’ EU Presidency.

According to the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the informal Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) brings together Defence ministers of the European Union to discuss key priorities under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

‘Discussions will focus on current and emerging security challenges, with particular emphasis on defence readiness and coordinated EU responses in an evolving security environment’, it said.

According to the programme, on Monday, the Ministers, will, among other things, hold strategic discussions on EU defence support to Ukraine, with a particular focus on mobilising European Peace Facility (EPF) funds dedicated to military support for Ukraine.

Discussions will also focus on maritime security in light of the latest developments, with a particular focus on freedom of navigation, ongoing efforts to counter the Russian shadow fleet.

During a working lunch, they will exchange views on the European Security Strategy, with particular reference to developments in the evolving strategic context.