Greek Cyprus rejects allegations of support for Israel
South Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands before a meeting at the Presiden, South Cyprus, September 4, 2023, Reuters
The president of Greek Cyprus underscored that it is not engaged in military activities and views itself as “part of the solution, not part of the problem.” This statement follows Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s warning to Greek Cyprus, cautioning that providing bases and facilities to Israel could draw the area into the conflict.
This is recognized throughout the Arab world and internationally through initiatives such as the Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor, which delivers humanitarian aid by ship, he added.
Nasrallah’s warning came after South Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos concluded a meeting with his counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on Monday, U.K.-based news website Middle East Eye reported.
“South Cyprus is an important player in the region and a partnership that we deeply value for the United States,” Blinken said.
Konstantinos Filis, director of the Institute for Global Affairs in Athens, claimed that the strategic cooperation agreement signed between Cyprus and the U.S. was the main reason for Hezbollah’s reaction.
Greek media, on the other hand, saw the controversy in terms of Hezbollah’s threat and Christodoulides’ statements. Kathimerini ran the headline “Hezbollah leader threatened” and highlighted Christodoulides’ remarks in the article.
The Greek Economico headline read, “Hezbollah targets Cyprus for supporting Israel”.
Euronews Greek also used the headline “Hezbollah leader threatened”.
Greece-based in.gr drew attention to Hezbollah’s weapons capacity and number of fighters. “This is an unprecedented military threat,” said Gabriel Charitos, an expert at the Jerusalem-based Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
