ROME, Italy — The Cypriot ambassador to the Holy See, George Poulides, said this week the highlight of Pope Francis’ visit to the island nation of Cyprus next week will be his meeting with migrants and refugees.
“The most symbolic moment of Pope Francis’ trip to Cyprus is represented by the meeting with refugees and immigrants in Nicosia,” Poulides told the Italian ANSA news agency.
The pope will leave the Vatican for a 5-day visit beginning in Cyprus next Thursday and later moving on to Athens, Greece, and the island of Lesbos.
“Pope Francis’ visit to Cyprus is a historic event,” said Poulides, who is dean of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican since 2019.
The ambassador said the issue of migration and refugees would be among the key points discussed between the pope and government officials, along with “environmental protection, the fight against climate change, and human rights issues.”
Last May, Cyprus appealed for help from the European Union after declaring a “state of emergency” because of the flood of migrants overwhelming its reception centers.
“Due to this situation and overcrowding in reception centers, I was forced to make a written representation to the European Commission,” said Interior Minister Nicos Nouris.
Nouris informed the commission that Cyprus was “entering a state of emergency as far as migration is concerned, and there is no further capacity to host additional migrants.”
Francis’ trip to Cyprus will be only the second time that a pope visits the island, which is divided into two parts separated by the U.N.’s so-called “green line.” The territory under the line, which comprises approximately 59 percent of the surface area, remains in effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, whereas the zone to the north is run by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of the North of Cyprus, occupied by Turkey in 1974.
“The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus are doing everything possible to combat the phenomenon, always respecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of these people,” Poulides told ANSA. “The largest number of migrants in the territory controlled by the Republic of Cyprus comes from Turkey through the occupied territories.”
“The President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiades should brief Pope Francis on the latest developments of the Cypriot issue, on Turkey’s latest provocations both on land and at sea, as well as on ongoing efforts to resolve the Cypriot issue,” he said.
“The efforts made and the initiatives taken by the U.N. are hampered by the Turkish provocation,” he added. “The Republic of Cyprus seeks to reach a just and sustainable solution to the Cypriot question, a solution that will be in line with the resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations.”
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