(Adds reactions from Charles Michel and Josep Borrell)
Brussels, 12 Feb. The European Union (EU) on Sunday sent its congratulations to the former Foreign Minister of Cyprus Nikos Jristodulidis who, with the support of conservative forces, won the second and final round of the presidential elections in his country.
“Congratulations to Jristodulidis on his election as President of the Republic of Cyprus. I look forward to working with you,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on her official Twitter profile.
On the same social network, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, declared for her part that “we must work together to face the challenges ahead of us: peace and reunification, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, migration, energy and competitiveness”.
According to Maltese politics, “we are better when the EU and Cyprus are together”.
For his part, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, also congratulated Jristodulidis and the High Representative of the Community for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, conveyed his congratulations and wished “to continue working together on important issues for the EU and for the peoples of Cyprus, paving the way for a solution of the Cyprus question”.
With 99% of the votes counted, Hristodulidis, who stood as an independent in the elections, won with 51.88% over former diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, who had the support of progressive formations and added 48.12% .
Cyprus is a republic in which the president is also head of government and represents the Greek Cypriot community in the peace dialogue with the Turkish Cypriots.
The president-elect, with vast international experience, has said he wants to usher in a “new era” in Cypriot politics with the formation of a “national unity” government that will solve the problem of the division of the country. .
The Mediterranean island has been divided since Turkish troops occupied the northern part of the country in 1974 and created the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara. EFE
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