PM Bettel on Official Visit to Cyprus, Meets UN Military in Demilitarised Zone

On Thursday 5 May 2022, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, paid an official visit to Nicosia, Cyprus.

PM Bettel was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, for a working meeting at the Presidential Palace. President Anastasiades and PM Bettel took stock of pressing European and international issues, including in particular the consequences of the war in Ukraine, where they agreed to continue to demonstrate firm unity in the common European response.

Regarding the rise in energy prices, the PM Bettel and the President Anastasiades recalled that few short-term solutions exist and that the response, here again, will have to be coordinated at European Union (EU) level. PM Bettel and President Anastasiades also underlined that the energy crisis should also bring about a change of paradigm and make it possible to accelerate the energy transition within the EU. States will have to innovate and dig new avenues to guarantee much broader energy independence, while promoting renewable energies.

PM Bettel underlined: “Luxembourg and Cyprus have shared a friendship of trust for years. We demonstrate this in Brussels at the European Council, where our positions, established on the basis of our common values, often converge and make our countries allies in mutual respect”. With this in mind, the strengthening of bilateral relations in a multitude of areas has been planned, including in particular at the level of renewable energies, where Luxembourg has already launched projects with countries that are also geographically distant, such as Lithuania, Estonia or even Denmark. Green finance and space are other identified sectors".

Finally, PM Bettel and President Anastasiades gave an update on the "Cypriot question", which has divided the country in two since 1974. PM Bettel expressed his support for United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) activities in Cyprus, concluding: "Cyprus is the last country in the European Union to be split in two; Nicosia is the capital of an EU member state and remains a city cut in two. We value the role of the United Nations in bringing about a final and peaceful solution to this long-standing problem.”

PM Bettel then met the President of the Cypriot Parliament, Annita Demetriou. The war in Ukraine and the Cyprus question dominated the exchanges. PM Bettel and the President of Parliament also gave an update on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Finally, a meeting with Colin Stewart, the special representative of the UN-SG within the demilitarised zone between the northern part and the southern part of the island was on the agenda. In the demilitarised zone separating the Republic of Cyprus from the northern part, PM Bettel met with the UN military "blue helmets" who ensure the guarantee of peace, and received a briefing at the base of the soldiers of the UNFICYP in Nicosia.