Ties between Israel and Cyprus have never been better, Cypriot FM tells Peres

It was the second time that Kasoulines had called on Peres in an eleven months period. President Shimon Peres with Cypriot FM Ioannis Kasoulide.

Israel and Cyprus are at an unprecedented level of cooperation and have been developing fast, Ioannis Kasoulines, the Foreign Minister of Cyprus said on Wednesday in the course of a visit with President Shimon Peres at the president’s official residence.

It was the second time that Kasoulines had called on Peres in an eleven-month period.

In welcoming him to the residence, Peres said that Israel has been following Cyprus’s struggle with its economic crisis and was impressed with the manner in which it was extricating itself.

President Shimon Peres with Cypriot FM Ioannis Kasoulide. Photo: Mark Neiman/GPO Relations between

Israel is now waiting to see whether the island state can now be united instead of split as it has been for many years, said Peres, noting that Cyprus had been the first island to join the European Union. A united Cyprus can play an important role in the EU, he said. Last week, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders decided to re-launch their peace negotiations.

“I don’t know where you stand in your negotiations or where we stand in ours, but we hope that we shall see peace in Cyprus and in the Middle East,” said Peres.

The president also expressed his pleasure that relations between Cyprus and Israel are on the upswing. It had always been paradox to him he said, that the two countries had been so close geographically and so far away politically.

In the past, health cooperation between the two countries was stronger than political cooperation, he observed.

He also suggested that more could be done in making use of high tech which in his view had been too busy with entertainment and communications and paid insufficient attention to health and education.

“To be members of the EU is not enough,” said Kasoulines who underscored the importance of making the EU part of the region and to thereby promote cooperation and peace. Israel would have a major portion in this he said, noting that anti-Semitism, terrorism and nuclear proliferation exist in Europe, and that “asymmetric threats spare nobody."

In this respect he stated, there is excellent cooperation between Cyprus and Israel on security issues. There is also good cooperation in other areas such as energy, water management and science and technology.

Illustrating the ongoing closeness between the two countries, Kasoulines said that only a few months ago, a Hebrew Studies program had been inaugurated at the University of Cyprus.

Kasoulines has a busy schedule during his current visit which includes meetings with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, Energy Minister Silvan Shalom, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, opposition leader Isaac Herzog, and Greek Patriarch Theosophilos III.

Kasoulines will also visit Ramallah for meetings with Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Foreign Minister Riad Malki.

jpost.com
By GREER FAY CASHMAN