Christodoulides: Cyprus's position on support to Serbia's integrity unchangeable

BELGRADE - Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday in Belgrade Cyprus's position on respect of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia was clear and unchangeable.

After a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Christodoulides said they had discussed the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

"I would like to publicly reiterate our support to those efforts by the Serbian government. Cyprus's position is clear. Our position when it comes to respect of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia cannot be changed," he said at a press conference with Vucic.

Christodoulides said Cyprus was the greatest backer of Serbia's EU accession and that he believed Serbia had made very important steps in reforms as well as in many other areas.

"We believe that should be recognised by the EU and reflected in discussions and the conclusions we will have at the European Council meeting in December," Christodoulides said.

He said he had had an exceptional exchange with Vucic about ways to further deepen bilateral ties.

"In recent years, we have been cooperating excellently in almost all sectors and there is also a possibility for further cooperation. Especially when it comes to defence, I think. We discussed that a lot and we will continue tomorrow, too," Christodoulides said, adding that trade and tourism also offered opportunities for cooperation.

He said further cooperation would also be discussed at the third Serbia-Cyprus intergovernmental meeting on Thursday, to be attended by the ministers of foreign affairs, defence and education.

He said important MoUs in the fields of education, science, innovation, advanced technologies and further cooperation between the two foreign ministries would be signed as well.

He also said he was grateful to Serbia for its position on the Cyprus issue and on efforts to restart talks to resolve the problem.

Christodoulides noted that his visit coincided with developments in Cyprus's neighbourhood in the Middle East as well as in Ukraine.

He said he had informed Vucic of Cyprus's initiative aimed at establishing a humanitarian maritime corridor for shipping aid to Gaza.

Christodoulides said Serbia and Cyprus were connected by years-long friendship and that he was glad his visit was a step towards further strengthening of bilateral ties.

He said he looked forward to welcoming Vucic in Cyprus in the near future to continue the discussions.