Cyprus’ role as EU and Middle East bridge enhanced

Minister of Foreign Affairs Erato Kozakou Markoullis pointed out on Wednesday that ”the Middle East is a region of tremendous potential, yet this potential will only be realised in an environment of sustainable regional peace, security and development,” adding that Cyprus, since joining the EU, has been transformed into the bloc’s external frontier in the Eastern Mediterranean and its potential to act as a political, financial and cultural bridge between the EU and the Middle East has been further enhanced.

”For the European Union, this is not an option. It is a strategic decision. At the same time, besides the collective approach of the EU, Cyprus has the unique capacity and determination to contribute positively to the enhancement of cooperation between the EU and its Middle Eastern neighbours, as well as to support and facilitate the quest for peace, stability and prosperity in our region,” she added.

In remarks on ”Challenges in the Middle East, the role of the EU and the potential contribution of Cyprus” at an event co-hosted by the University of Nicosia in the framework of the week of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Markoullis said the subject of discussion ”is of cardinal importance for peace and security in our region and in the world.”

She noted that ”the Middle East is a region central to global security and stability” and that ”globalisation, as a process that entwines the fates of peoples, societies and economies from all four corners of the globe, has shrunk our world.”

Markoullis said that, ”as the geographical interpretation of borders becomes even more blurred and vague, the challenges and threats in the Middle East are challenges and threats for Europe and the world.”

Referring to the main conflicts in the Middle East, Markoullis singled out the Palestinian issue as the most important conflict in the region in terms of ”security cost” to the region.

”The Palestinian issue, as well as the broader Arab-Israeli conflict, has been both a conflict in itself as well as the reason, albeit some times the excuse, for other regional conflicts. Furthermore, this conflict has international ramifications. We cannot have sustainable and regional security without the creation of a viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian state living in peace and prosperity, side by side with a secure Israel. And we cannot have a comprehensive peace in the Middle East without the peaceful resolution of the other tracks of the Arab-Israeli conflict, namely the Lebanese and the Syrian tracks,” she added.

Markoullis pointed out that ”the international community has the obligation to support the voices of moderation and the political forces in the Middle East that seek reconciliation, not conflict,” adding that ”certainly we cannot let the extremists set the agenda.”

”At the same time and in order to counter the root causes of extremism, the need for economic, political and societal structural reform becomes imperative,” she said, adding that ”at the same time, the EU indeed has a significant role to play as a facilitator of change in the Middle East,” she said.

The Minister added that ”in an interconnected world, the challenges of the Middle East have an impact on the EU” and that ”Europe cannot be a bystander” and ”must remain a key actor in the region, both political and economic.”

Markoullis outlined what the EU is doing as the biggest neighbour in the region, the biggest trading partner of many countries and as promoter of regional cooperation, noting that ”in the Middle East peace process, the EU is actively participating in the international Quartet, together with the UN, the US and Russia” and is not only an important political interlocutor and mediator, but also the most important donor to the Palestinian Authority.

She said the EU has ”a very critical political role to play particularly now, on the follow-up of the Annapolis meeting” and can show ”leadership in particular political aspects of the current and future phases of the Middle East Peace Process.”

Referring to the possible contribution of Cyprus, Markoullis said that ”since its membership to the EU, Cyprus has been transformed into the Union’s external frontier in the Eastern Mediterranean and its potential to act as a political, financial and cultural bridge between the EU and the Middle East has been further enhanced.”

Markoullis noted that Cyprus enjoys excellent bilateral relations with its neighbours, both the Arab countries and Israel, adding that ”the delicate balance in our regional foreign policy is based on the simple reality that Cyprus does not have a hidden agenda.”

”Our objective is clear, peace and security in the Middle East,” she said and gave examples of the role and impact that Cyprus can have on the Middle East.