The Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East can become a region of peace if all countries work together, were the key takeaways from the first two panel discussions on geostrategic developments in the region, during the first day of the Economist Annual Cyprus Summit held on Monday in Nicosia.
In her online intervention, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Tzipi Livni, said that US President’s plan for Gaza does not solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is a good start.
She added that where the future of Gaza is concerned, the Palestinian Authority should be part of it, provided they understand that they need to reform. Livni specified there is also a need for regional cooperation in order to strengthen the Palestinian Authority to act against Hamas within Gaza.
The minister also expressed the hope that the Israeli government will also join the effort, not only by acting against Hamas, but also by working with or enabling or agreeing that the Palestinian Authority will have a role in Gaza and in the future.
Recognition of Palestinian state
For his part, former Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, said that any future perspective has to take into account the various dynamics and developments, not only the situation in Gaza but the conditions in the West Bank, and the projection of Israeli military power beyond its immediate vicinity.
He added that the 20-point peace plan proposed by President Trump brought was probably the first time in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict where the United States has demonstrated a political will to enforce a resolution, even though partial, to the ongoing conflict and its ability to leverage the Israeli position to acquiesce to the proposal and to accept its implementation.
He called the issue of further recognition of the Palestinian state by some important members of the international community a welcome development, but the question, he said, is how that recognition is going to be translated into practical measures, to facilitate what the international consensus is related to the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Peace plan 'not a magic formula'
The Ambassador of Israel to Cyprus, Oren Anolik, said that the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 between Israel and several Arab countries, such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, as well as Israel's earlier peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, are living proof that normalisation and partnership and coexistence are possible in the Middle East.
He added that out of war, a new opportunity can emerge, and out of destruction sometimes comes the moral clarity to rebuild differently, adding that President Trump's 20-point peace plan is not a magic formula, but it does offer a framework that may help move from managing crises into transforming relationships.
“Engagement with Israel brings tangible benefits, investment, innovation, security, and stability, and the Abraham Accords taught us that normalisation is not the end of the conflict, it is the beginning of a new logic, a logic in which Israelis and Arabs innovate together, invest together, build together, and even dream together”, he concluded.
Role of a united Cyprus
Former European commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said in turn that Cyprus is back on the epicentre of all these geostrategic changes which have raised the strategic importance of this island.
He added that a united Cyprus means it can help overcome all these problems in Eastern Mediterranean, from the conflict in Gaza or in other parts of the Mediterranean to the delimitation of the exclusive economic zones, which is part of the complex situation in the region, expressing a hopeful note after the election of the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community.
He also noted that Europe should understand that the Mediterranean is part of its vital space, therefore it has to be more present there, but in order to do that it has to overcome its domestic problems.
'Peace is possible'
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt and former secretary-general of the League of Arab States, Amre Moussa, said that Cyprus can play a principal role in the months and perhaps a few years to come to build peace in the Middle East.
“There will be no other solution unless we work together and call on all parties to come to their senses and establish peace. Live together, work together, that would benefit all of us as individuals, would benefit people in this region, Eastern Mediterranean, will benefit all the people in fact around the world”, he emphasised.
Finally, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Harris Georgiades said that peace is possible in the region.
He added that in this region and in this prospect, Cyprus and Greece have definitely a role to play, with Cyprus in particular highlighting a constructive role, despite the open problem with Turkey.
“This is a crucial country for the stability of the region, a very significant country, but at the moment we are seeing a country which is behaving in a very destabilising way, and regrettably both Greece and Cyprus are on the receiving end of policies, which shows that this is not yet a partner we can count on in this effort we must undertake to transform the Eastern Mediterranean region into a region of peace and prosperity and prospect and not a region of conflicts and war”, he concluded.
CNA