© Illustration by Shoshana Schultz/The New York Times
Cyprus can play a “very significant role” in a future peace process between Palestinians and Israelis, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday, as he attended a working lunch held at Cyprus’ presidential palace.
“You can play a very significant role. I will not dwell on the excellent relationship which exists between the Palestinian people and the Cypriot people and the Republic of Cyprus, but you also maintain excellent relations, and rightly so, with Israel,” he said.
As such, he said, “you can play a role in mediating between the two sides, based on a political solution rooted in international legitimacy and United Nations security council resolutions”.
Regarding relations between Palestine and Cyprus, he said that “the Palestinian people not only sense their geographical proximity to the Cypriot people, but also perceive a genuine warmth, an existential, human bond, with them”.
He then referred to wider recognition being offered to the Palestinian state by other countries in Europe in recent years, saying that “for some time now, there have been significant developments regarding the European position on the Palestinian issue”.
“By way of example, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have expressed positions which are nearly identical to the Palestinian stance. This is particularly gratifying for us, as Europe, in general, can play a vital role in reaching a settlement and establishing peace in the region,” he said.
A greater European role in matters, he added, “would benefit all the countries in the region”.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, meanwhile, said that “the Republic of Cyprus stands ready to play any role you deem appropriate in fostering cooperation within our region”, and that “this is precisely what we strive to achieve through our foreign policy”.
“At the same time, as a European Union member state in this region, we convey the concerns of states in the region to Europe, while simultaneously representing the European Union within the region. We are pleased that this role we have undertaken has been recognised by other member states, as well as by EU institutions,” he said.
He added that “we cannot change geography” and said that for this reason “we must all work together, based on a positive agenda and a positive approach, to achieve our common goals.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday offered his “warm thanks” to the Republic of Cyprus for the country’s “humanitarian and political support for the Palestinian people”, as he arrived in Nicosia to meet Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
He made reference to the fact that the Republic of Cyprus has recognised Palestinian statehood since 1988, a move which he said “reflects the Republic of Cyprus’ position of solidarity for the rights of the Palestinian people”.
“I believe that the relation between Palestine and the Republic of Cyprus dates back to well before 1988, when there were very close relations between Cyprus and Palestine,” he said.
He then added that he wished to “stress in front of the whole world our warm thanks to the Republic of Cyprus for its humanitarian and political support for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian problem”.
“We are interested in the security of the region, and we are also interested in the security of Israelis. We do not want military friction and conflicts, and we want to solve the problem on the basis of the [United Nations] security council, based on international law, to the benefit of the whole region,” he said.
On this front, he stressed that “we have adopted a slogan which we are not embarrassed to say loud and clear, that we are in favour of peaceful, popular resistance which expresses the protest of the Palestinian people in cases where the rights of the Palestinian people are violated”.
He added during a planned one-on-one meeting with Christodoulides, “we will have an extensive opportunity to exchange views on the situation, and on the extent to which the Palestinian people is suffering, whether that is related to the Gaza strip, or the West Bank, or East Jerusalem, which is the legal capital of the Palestinian state, based on international resolutions”.
“For many years, we have been extending an olive branch to the Israeli side, so as to reach a settlement and for peace to prevail, not only directly between Israel and Palestine, but also between Israel and the neighbouring Arab nations, to the benefit of the entire region and world,” he said.
He also made reference to this week’s Israeli elections, saying that “we are still awaiting the final results and the final form of the Israeli government” which will be formed thereafter, but that “as soon as it is formed, we are willing to discuss with them the matter of peace”.
“When [the new Israeli government] is formed, your supporting role, given that you have such good intentions and that you are a neighbouring country, a neighbouring friendly country, will be to work towards a peaceful discussion which will have tangible positive results,” he said.
Christodoulides, meanwhile, said of the Republic of Cyprus’ recognition of Palestinian statehood that “our position regarding the resolution of the Palestinian issue is clear, based on the agreed framework of United Nations resolutions”.
“At the same time, current circumstances highlight both the importance we place on our bilateral relations and our commitment to fostering conditions of security and stability in our region,” he said.
He also made reference to the humanitarian aid Cyprus sends towards Palestine and the training offered to Palestinian emergency workers at Larnaca’s Cyclops centre, before returning to the issue of geopolitics.
“Your visit takes place at a critical juncture for our region. I look forward to our discussion and exchange of views, as we explore how we can work together, through a positive approach, to foster conditions of security and stability in the region,” he said.
In this, he stressed that “the Republic of Cyprus is part of the solution to the problems in the region” and “not part of the problems”.
“We are constantly working within this positive framework, and, naturally, we remain at the disposal of Palestine, ready to play whatever role they deem necessary for the Republic of Cyprus to fulfil, so as to achieve our common goals,” he said.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will be visiting Cyprus on Thursday, with talks on the island focusing on bilateral relations, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and developments in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The two-day visit’s schedule includes Abbas’ arrival at the presidential palace and a tete-a-tete meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides followed by a working lunch.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a written statement that this was the third meeting between the two presidents since Christodoulides was elected, with their latest meeting taking place in Palestine in May 2025.
Letymbiotis said that on Thursday the two leaders were to discuss Cyprus-Palestine bilateral relations, the situation in the region and Cyprus’ humanitarian role, including through the Amalthea maritime corridor for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. They were also set to discuss EU-Palestine relations and the latest developments in the Cyprus problem.
“Cyprus and Palestine share longstanding historical relations and close ties, both at the political level and in other areas, as well as through cooperation between the two peoples,” he added.
The trip comes as the government faces criticism over its increasing support for Israeli interests in Cyprus.
Akel has attacked the creation of a Cyprus chapter of the Israel Allies Foundation by six MPs from Disy, Diko and Elam, which the party has said undermines the credibility of Cyprus in its efforts to press Turkey internationally on its ongoing occupation.
Cyprus recognised the State of Palestine immediately after its declaration in 1988.
When Abbas visited in June 2022, then President Nicos Anastasiades pledged that close ties with Israel “would not be to the detriment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians”.
President Nikos Christodoulides visited Ramallah in 2023 and laid a wreath at Yasser Arafat’s tomb, and in March 2024 the first aid ship for Gaza left a Cypriot port.
Abbas has led the Palestinian Authority since 2005, with his Fatah-dominated authority governing parts of the West Bank, while Hamas ran the Gaza strip.
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