THE AMERICAN Jewish Committee (AJC) yesterday held meetings with President Demetris Christofias and other senior officials to express its support for the growing ties between Cyprus and Israel.
“We visited Cyprus at this time to express our appreciation and support for the growing links with Israel, which serve the interests of both democratic countries,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.
The eight-member AJC group here to attend the annual Overseas Cypriots Conference in Nicosia, met with Christofias, Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou and senior Defence Ministry officials. Their visit was trumpeted by Archbishop Chrysostomos II as a belated step in the right direction.
The group also met with Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus Michael Harari, US Embassy officials and representatives visiting Nicosia from the Greek-American and Cypriot-American communities.
“The importance of the Eastern Mediterranean region is immense,” Harris was quoted saying on the AJC website.
“We were eager to gain a greater understanding of the complex situation on the ground in Cyprus, a divided island since 1974. We sought to get a better grasp of the dynamics of the conflict and the key issues involved, including, we should remember, the continued presence of over 40,000 Turkish troops in the Turkish-Cypriot zone and a flow of settlers from Turkey,” he added.
The visit was lauded by the Cypriot leadership with hints that Cyprus needed to take advantage of the lull in usually excellent relations between Israel and Turkey.
Speaking after his meeting with Harris, Kyprianou highlighted that the AJC plays an important role in various decision-making centres in the United States. The minister said the two mainly discussed the Cyprus problem, Turkey’s EU accession course, the role of Cyprus in the region and Cyprus’ relations with the US government.
“It was a very interesting discussion,” said Kyprianou, noting that he referred to Cyprus’ position on Turkey’s EU accession course, “namely that if Turkey does not meet its obligations and does not start meeting its obligations, this will have consequences, not only in its accession but also in the accession course itself,” he said.
The two also discussed Cyprus’ role in the region. Kyprianou said the government’s main policy was to establish Cyprus as a key player in the region, acting as a mediator between the EU and countries of the region.
“After the crisis in relations between Turkey and Israel, Cyprus is the only country that at this stage maintains good relations and contacts, and an open and sincere dialogue with all the countries in the region, and this is why we believe that it can be utilised by the international community and of course the EU,” he said.
Archbishop Chrysostomos yesterday said Cyprus should have utilised the Jewish lobby decades ago, without harming its relationship with the Arab world.
The primate said the Greek lobby and the Jewish lobby could cooperate in approaching US decision-making centres to promote a solution to Cyprus’ political problem.
“We must understand that the only non-Arab state in the region is Cyprus,” he said, adding that “Cyprus for the Jews is a way out, they can be assisted and give assistance”.
The archbishop noted that “in the Middle East the Jewish state is a superpower, whether we like it or not...if they have differences with the Turks it is because Turkey, as a large country, wants to geopolitically control the Middle East, which so far is controlled by Israel, that is their quarrel”.
“We have to understand that yes the Arabs are our friends, but we won’t make enemies of them, and I don’t believe they mind if we have a good cooperation with the Jews,” he said.
Chrysostomos pointed to the fact that he had good relations with both Arab leaders and Israeli government officials and that neither minded.
In fact, he even offered the Cyprus Church to them as a neutral ground to host peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, he said, adding: “I believe they both listened with great joy, neither protested.”
The AJC was established over a hundred years ago to promote pluralism and shared democratic values. Today, with head offices in New York and Washington and others around the world, it’s stated mission is “to enhance the well being of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the US and around the world”.
Before coming to Cyprus, the AJC mission visited Bulgaria and Greece.
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/cyprus-courting-jewish-lobby/20100828
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