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Cyprus won’t allow Israel to use its soil to attack Lebanon: Ambassador

Tuesday, 02 July 2024 5:31 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 02 July 2024 7:04 PM ]

Cypriot Ambassador to Lebanon Maria Hadjitheodosiou (Photo via social media)

The Cypriot ambassador to Beirut says the Mediterranean island country will not allow its territory to be used as a launching pad for an Israeli military offensive against Lebanon.

“We affirm our country's position regarding not allowing the use of Cypriot lands as a launching platform for a military invasion against Lebanon,” Maria Hadjitheodosiou said during her Tuesday meeting with Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Committee in Lebanon’s parliament, Fadi Alameh.

The two officials discussed the security situation in southern Lebanon, the extent of damage resulting from clashes along the border between the Arab country and the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories, and Lebanon’s adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 33-day 2006 Israeli onslaught.

The Cypriot ambassador said she hoped “a political settlement to end the current situation.”

On June 24, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan lashed out at Cyprus for becoming an “operation center” for Israel’s bloody onslaught on Gaza, warning the island country against involving itself with the regime’s regional adventures.

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“We frequently see in intelligence reports that certain countries use the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus as a base, particularly for offensives in Gaza,” Fidan told Turkey’s HaberTurk television news channel in an exclusive interview.

“When you become a part of the ongoing wars in the Middle East, this fire will come and find you too.”

“And as we share the same geography, it will then come and hit us too. Our advice to them is to stay away from the conflict,” Fidan stated.

The Turkish foreign minister’s warning came less than a week after Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned Cyprus if it opened its airports and bases to Israel in the event of a new war on Lebanon.

“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war,” Nasrallah stated on June 19.

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