The Minister
of Defence, Mr Fotis Fotiou, held today a meeting, at the Filoxenia Conference Center, with the Minister
of Defence of Italy, Mr Mario Mauro.
Following the meeting the two Ministers made statements to the Press.
In his statement, Minister Fotiou said:
“I would like to welcome my friend, the Defence Minister of Italy to Cyprus. I
told him today that he is a very good friend of Cyprus and he is much welcome
here. His visit is the continuation of my visit to Italy last September, during
which we opened new horizons of cooperation between our two Ministries, in the
framework of new developments in the region. Our successive meetings with my
friend, the Minister, prove the willingness of both countries to further
enhance and strengthen our relations in the field of defence and security.
During
today's meeting, we raised questions with regard to the implementation of the provisions
concerning the Agreement on Defence Cooperation between Cyprus and Italy, which
was signed in Rome in September. On the basis of this agreement, joint programmes
will be implemented between the armed forces of the two countries, aiming at
enhancing our capabilities in the field of defence and security, such as the
exchange of expertise, information and the execution of joint exercises.
In
addition, we exchanged views on issues that will be discussed at the forthcoming
European Council this December. In this regard, we reaffirmed our common views and
we agreed to jointly promote issues at the European Council. Issues that we
consider important in strengthening the role of the EU in the fields of
security and defense.
Among
these issues, of course, is the Maritime Security Strategy. We are two
Mediterranean countries with a particular interest in this domain. Cyprus has
the third largest commercial fleet in Europe and the 10th worldwide.
Therefore, our interest in the sector of maritime security is obvious. We
believe that there is a need to develop a coordinated civil-military approach
for the EU’s maritime security, in order to encounter threats, risks and
vulnerabilities, with a purpose to protect the strategic maritime interests of
the EU. Therefore, there is a need to adopt a holistic and comprehensive
approach in addressing the security challenges.
Energy
security must be part of European strategy, so as to protect the wealth in the
area. It must be a part of the Common Security and Defence Policy which must be
implemented as soon as possible. The Minister told me that we are two European
Union countries and we have to decide our destiny together. I agree with this
statement.
Following
the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the Cyprus EEZ, new fields of
cooperation are opening up between our two countries in the field of energy
security. It is a fact that the participation of the Italian oil company ENI in
the Cypriot EEZ for research and extraction of natural gas constitutes a significant
development for the strengthening of relations between Cyprus and Italy. At the
same time, the need to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries has
become inevitable. To this end, a decision has been taken to set up a joint
working group between the two Ministries so as to submit suggestions that
concern the identification of fields of cooperation in the sectors of energy
and maritime security.
Finally,
allow me to mention that in the context of this meeting, I had the opportunity
to inform my Italian counterpart on the developments that concern the decision
of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to submit an application to join
the NATO "Partnership for Peace" Programme. I would like to thank the
Minister for the support of his country concerning this decision of Cyprus.
I also
briefed him on the Cyprus problem and the financial situation in our country. We
also had the opportunity to exchange views on the developments in the Middle
East.
With my
counterpart we also discussed another important issue for both Italy and other Member States. A problem that is located on the EU's southern and eastern external borders. Namely the
problem of illegal immigration. He briefed me on the initiative of his country, which is related to the effective, henceforth, support of the EU for the addressing
of the phenomenon
of illegal migration and human trafficking. We agreed that we are going to support this initiative.”
Lastly, Minister Fotiou welcomed his Italian counterpart to
Cyprus, expressing his belief that many more meetings will follow.
On his part the Italian
Minister Mr Mauro thanked Mr Fotiou for his
“extraordinary work in the context of European institutions, because we need in
this moment to understand, through the voice of countries like Cyprus, what it
means to stay together for the future of Europe.”
He recalled that for 25 years the Italian
people were afraid of the problem linked with the existence of the eastern
wall. After the fall of the wall of Berlin, he said, everything changed.
“Now we have to consider that the
problems of instability and the area of instability is the south of the
Mediterranean area”, he noted, pointing out “that’s why I am here; we have to
strengthen and reinforce our capacity for cooperation. We are destined to promote
all efforts possible considering that the future of the Mediterranean area and
the future of Europe are linked with our capacity to stop instability in this
area”.
We have a lot to do, the Italian Minister
acknowledged, adding: “We implemented our agreement in the sector of defence,
because we know that the only manner to realize Europe is solidarity. Europe
for us is a model of solidarity and we have to stay together, we the
Mediterranean countries, in order to create the best prospects for the European
political project.
I am honoured and very proud to be
considered a friend of Cyprus but at the same time I am convinced that the
future of this friendship is strongly linked with our courage and our capacity
to invest in peace and security for our people.”
Referring to the existing situation in the
Mediterranean region regarding illegal immigration as well as his Government’s
actions on the matter, Mr Mauro noted: “Difficult living conditions and the
role of terrorist organizations in human trafficking have modified the
traditional immigrant inflow across the Mediterranean Sea and forced the
Italian Government to take action. Our Government launched an operation called
“Mare Nostrum” as an immediate response to the Lambedusa tragedy with two clear
objectives: to provide humanitarian assistance to the many in danger of losing
their lives in the navigation across the sea, and to tackle human trafficking
for security reasons as it is strongly connected to terrorist organizations.
It is important for this goal to have a
high level of communication between us. We believe that this problem is not
just an Italian one but a European one. For this reason we are asking that the
EU considers the possibility of increasing the overall effort in the
Mediterranean area, which in my opinion is increasingly becoming central to the
European overall security.”
Moreover, the Italian Minister thanked Mr
Fotiou for his strong support during the last Council of EU Ministers in
Vilnius and further noted: “I am convinced that our common work may be the best
perspective for peace and security in the Mediterranean area. It’s a big and
long job because probably we are destined to suffer from instability in our
region for a long time, but at the same time I am strongly convinced that with
the support of Cyprus we are to realize this very important effort.”
Asked by a journalist to comment on the
presence of the Turkish vessel “Barbaros”, Mr Mauro said: “During the meeting
with the Minister we discussed this subject and I reconfirmed my conviction: We
are to do all that is possible to stop all provocations to security in our
region. Clearly we are to decide the best way and the best way is the way
of the dialogue and the way of a constructive perspective. But exactly because we
are friends we are to stay together and face all situations”.
Responding to the same question, Mr Fotiou said he fully agreed
with the Italian Minister. He then asserted: “Of course we operate on the basis
of our strategic planning in the framework of our sovereign rights, and this is
clear according to international law. We want stability and security in
the area, but our determination to defend our sovereign rights must be taken
for granted by Europe. International law constitutes the
bedrock of our policy and our intention is not to engage in this Turkish game,
and we will continue our activities in our Exclusive Economic Zone as planned”.
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