Cyprus FM: Any sanctions against Libya must be targeted

Cyprus Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou has said that any sanctions against Libya must be targeted so as not to harm the people of Libya.
Speaking after a meeting he had on Friday with EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva, Kyprianou said there are some ideas about the sanctions that the EU may impose on Libya.
He noted that any sanctions must be targeted so that the people will not be harmed.
“The fact that we advice for caution does not mean that we are taking a position towards any direction,” he said.
Kyprianou noted that “due to the particularity of the country we must be cautious, reflect on the situation and remain targeted.” He said that he expects that the EU will take its decision on the issue of sanctions in the next few days.
Asked whether humanitarian aid will be sent to Libya, Kyprianou said that this is an issue addressed by the Commission, who will send humanitarian aid, as Commission Georgieva informed him.
Kyprianou stressed that Cyprus always provides its help once it is asked to do so while he noted that almost all Cypriots that wanted to leave Libya have been evacuated. He added that approximately seven Cypriots are still in a region from where it is difficult to be evacuated.
He also underlined the very close cooperation between the governments of Cyprus and Greece. He said that Cyprus is grateful to Greece for its help and tangible support and noted that he spoke on Thursday night with Greek FM Demetris Droutsas.
Responding to another question, Kyprianou said that has been no request so far to Cyprus to investigate whether there are any assets of Mubarak’s family in Cyprus.
As to his meeting with Georgieva, Kyprianou said that the EU Commissioner informed him about her priorities and policies and that they discussed ways to promote better coordination and improvement of the processes.
He also noted that they discussed about issues that will emerge during Cyprus EU Presidency, noting that development policy and humanitarian aid will be among the EU Cyprus Presidency priorities.
Kyprianou also said he discussed with the Commissioner efforts for the coordination at the European level to promote the issue of EU citizens repatriation, adding that there is an informal cooperation mechanism between various EU members in the region, at an intergovernmental level.