WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides discussed this on Wednesday a new attempt by the US government and mediators in the Middle East to broker a ceasefire to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza.
Christodoulides leads the European Union country closest to Gaza. The small Mediterranean island nation has played a crucial role in efforts to get humanitarian aid to Gaza since the war Hamas and Israel started over a year ago.
He said Biden and White House officials had briefed him on the latest stepped-up efforts by the U.S. government and other mediators, but declined to provide further details on the discussion.
“The most important thing, the first priority of the international community, is now a ceasefire in the region,” Christodoulides told reporters after his Oval Office talks with Biden.
He added that the situation on the ground was changing daily, but that he was “quite optimistic” that a ceasefire could be reached in Lebanon within one to two weeks.
Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein will visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the release of hostages held by Hamas, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. She said CIA Director Bill Burns will go to Egypt on Thursday to discuss those efforts.
A proposal to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah calls for a two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the country’s southern border, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the conversations. said. The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Biden, meanwhile, thanked Cyprus for its help in moving much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza and for the Mediterranean’s cooperation in responding to the crisis. Russian war in Ukraine.
The meeting, the first oval visit by a Cypriot president since 1996, comes days after US and Cypriot officials announced the countries are launching a strategic dialogue aimed at strengthening security and stability in a crisis-ridden region through initiatives, including the training of counter-terrorism personnel from the Middle East. Eastern countries and the fight against sanctions evasion.
The new coordination is just the latest example of the strengthening of relations between Cyprus and the US, after decades of walking a tightrope between Washington and Moscow. Cyprus has drawn closer to the US since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Today we opposed Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine, we launched a strategic dialogue, we increased cooperation on a range of issues from energy security to artificial intelligence, and we expanded humanitarian assistance, bringing 8,000 tons have been delivered to Gaza,” Biden said.
The US is also funding a center on the island under the acronym CYCLOPS that trains personnel from Cyprus and neighboring countries in maritime, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism techniques.
The Cypriot government has also increased coordination with local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI to help combat sanctions evasion against Russia and other countries.
The FBI helps train Cypriot police to identify and prosecute cases of illegal financing and attempts to circumvent US, European Union and UN sanctions imposed on third countries.
Last month, Cyprus and the US signed a framework agreement for defense cooperation outlining how the two countries can strengthen their response to regional humanitarian crises and security challenges.
Christodoulides said Cyprus has proven to be a “predictable and reliable partner of the United States in a region of great geopolitical importance.”
Earlier this year, Cyprus helped the US establish a maritime corridor in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid by ship to the Palestinian territory.
The $230 million temporary pier project was derided by critics as a nonsense and beset by turbulent weather, safety threats and sweeping staffing cuts. The Pentagon pulled the plug on the venture after about four months.
The Biden administration set a goal for the U.S. Sea Route and pier to provide food to feed 1.5 million people for 90 days. According to a USAID inspector general’s report, it fell short, producing enough to feed about 450,000 people for a month before closing.
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Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus. AP diplomatic writer Matthew Lee contributed reporting