The President of Cyprus’ House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, held bilateral meetings in Rome on the sidelines of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament of the Member States of the Council of Europe, according to a statement issued by the House of Representatives.
On Thursday, Demetriou held separate meetings with the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the President of the Hungarian National Assembly, Ágnes Forsthoffer, the Speaker of Israel’s Knesset, Amir Ohana, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili and the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana.
During her meeting with UK House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, discussions focused on interparliamentary relations and prospects for further strengthening and deepening cooperation, particularly in education, trade and entrepreneurship, the announcement said.
Referring to the prospects of resuming negotiations to resolve the Cyprus problem, the President of the House stressed the pivotal role the United Kingdom could play in this process as a guarantor power. According to the statement, Sir Hoyle reiterated his country’s commitment to achieving a just and comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
The two sides also discussed UK-EU relations, as well as security and defence challenges in Europe and ways of addressing them collectively, it said.
During her meeting with Hungarian National Assembly President Ágnes Forsthoffer, both sides expressed their willingness to further develop bilateral cooperation, particularly at parliamentary level, through more frequent contacts and exchanges, it notes.
Demetriou also expressed her gratitude for Hungary’s principled stance on the Cyprus problem, it said.
At her meeting with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the two sides underlined the excellent level of relations and cooperation between Cyprus and Israel in key areas of mutual interest, including the strategically important Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), the announcement said.
They also stressed the importance of further advancing trilateral cooperation between Cyprus, Greece and Israel at parliamentary level, with a view to strengthening regional cooperation and effectively addressing common challenges and threats, it adds.
During her meeting with Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, Demetriou briefed him on the latest developments in the Cyprus problem and thanked Georgia for its principled position and support for efforts to reach a settlement.
The two sides also discussed current international developments and stressed the need for national parliaments to support the peaceful resolution of disputes by every possible means, guided by international and European law and the protection of human rights, it said.
Demetriou also met with the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana, whom she briefed on developments in the Cyprus problem.
‘She stressed that Turkey’s continued military occupation of Cyprus was fundamentally a European issue, rather than merely a bilateral or regional matter, as it concerned security, territorial integrity and the very principles of the EU’, it said.
It is noted that Fontana expressed his support for efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, noting that Cyprus was an integral part of the European family. He also referred to the historic ties between Cyprus and Italy.
‘Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to common European principles and values, stressing that the international community should demonstrate the same degree of sensitivity towards all violations of international law and abandon the logic of double standards’ it said.
It is noted that Demetriou chaired part of the proceedings during the final section of the second session of the European Conference of Speakers of Parliament, which focused on Artificial Intelligence and the Labour Market.