In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides. This is the first visit of the Cypriot Head of State to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the last time a President of Cyprus visited Ukraine was ten years ago.
“We see today’s visit both as a sign of support for Ukraine and as a signal of our shared readiness to continue working together – for the benefit of both our states and all of Europe,” Volodymyr Zelensky noted.
The President informed his counterpart about the situation in Ukraine, including developments on the frontline, priorities, and the work of the Ukrainian team in negotiations with partners.
Nikos Christodoulides praised the resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s criminal invasion. He stressed that any peace agreement must be based on the principles of the United Nations and full respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The leaders discussed in detail their shared European agenda and Europe's development of a new global role for itself, which must be truly strong.
“Ukraine has given Europe a significant unifying momentum, and this energy works to strengthen Europe. We also expect the European community to stand with Ukraine as needed to achieve peace and guarantee reliable security,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
Special attention was given to supporting Ukraine’s EU membership. Our country expects that the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of next year will be historic in terms of opening negotiating clusters for Ukraine and adopting other necessary decisions.
The meeting also addressed the strengthening of sanctions pressure on Russia. EU leaders are currently preparing a new sanctions package that should include further measures targeting the Russian energy sector and other areas financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Ukraine also counts on Cyprus’s support for joint European decisions regarding Russian assets.
“Russia must pay for the war it started itself and continues. The funds needed for defense and recovery after Russian strikes should absolutely rightly come from the amounts the aggressor has left itself in the hands of the free world,” Volodymyr Zelensky stressed.
The Head of State separately thanked Cyprus for supporting the resolution on Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, which was voted on yesterday at the UN General Assembly. Ukraine hopes for Cyprus’s continued involvement in addressing humanitarian issues.
