Press statements by the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the President of the Republic of Finland

From:

22/05/25 21:11 | Press release | President of the Republic / Presidency, European affairs, Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, met today with the President of the Republic of Finland, Mr Alexander Stubb, at the Presidential Palace, in Helsinki.

Following their tête-à-tête meeting and the meetings in an extended format, President Christodoulides and President Stubb made statements to the press.

In his remarks, President Stubb said: “It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you here in Helsinki, at the Presidential Palace. We know each other from the past. We had an extremely good conversation about security issues relating to our region, security issues relating to your region, the greater Middle East, and we were able to exchange ideas on many different things, including our transatlantic partnership and also on Russia’s war of aggression.

Finland and Cyprus have a long-standing relationship, and I look forward to strengthening our ties further during your visit. And, of course, this is a quite historic visit in the sense that the last time a President of Cyprus visited Finland was in 2004. And I remember when I was Foreign Minister visiting Cyprus, looking at our United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations and the work we have done there.

Like Finland, Cyprus is a maritime nation, so that is why I am happy that you have a minister here dealing with those issues. It is also one of the largest flag states in the world and plays a significant role in the shipping and sectors of international regulation. The Cypriot flag is familiar also here in the ports of the northern Baltic Sea. Last winter, over 80 ice-class ships visited Finnish ports with a Cyprus flag. So, the sea connects us in so many ways.

The main focus of our discussion today was European security, particularly with regard to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and, of course, the Middle East. The security and stability of Europe is important to both of us. The future of Ukraine is key to Europe’s security, as well as stability in the Middle East. We also discussed the situation about our bilateral cooperation, including commercial cooperation. Finally, both Finland and Cyprus are strong supporters of a rules-based international order, and we understand the importance of the UN in supporting peace and conflict resolution”.

On his part, President Christodoulides said: “Thank you for the kind invitation, the warm hospitality and the excellent discussion. It is a great pleasure for me to be here today, especially as this, as you very correctly mentioned, is the first bilateral visit of a Cypriot President since 2004.

And even though geographically we are at different ends of Europe, our ties are strong as we cooperate closely, not only at the bilateral level, but also in multilateral fora, especially in our common European family. Our peoples maintain regular contacts, including, but not only, through the increasing number of Finnish tourists visiting Cyprus. Finns have been enthusiastically rediscovering Cyprus, I will say, after COVID-19. Even though we still have some way to go before we reach the number of visitors that we had seen in the 80s, we are on the right track. And we are working on enhancing these people-to-people contacts as well as business interactions in all aspects and in different ways, such as through the very successful business forum that took place yesterday, focused on shipping.

The business delegation that travelled in Helsinki is quite sizable by Cypriot standards, which is indicative of the keen interest of our business people to work closer together with Finland.

There are quite a few fields that we have identified, such as shipping, in which the complementary of our respective industries and clusters lends itself well to a win-win cooperation.

Another strong bond between us is Finland’s long-lasting position with regard to the solution of the Cyprus problem. We are grateful for your support. We are grateful for the way Finland is voting on international fora with regards to the solution of the Cyprus problem which continues to be our number one priority, and how we can end the division and reunite our island. Finland has significantly contributed to peacekeeping efforts in Cyprus over the decades, including through the first UN-appointed mediator in 1960, who was former Finnish Prime Minister Sakari Tuomioja, and, of course, the deployment of more than 10,000 peacekeepers on the island. We are profoundly grateful for your contribution, and as a very small token of our appreciation, later today I will be laying a wreath at the monument of Finnish peacekeepers, 13 of which lost their lives while serving in Cyprus. We will never forget their sacrifice, which stands as an enduring symbol of Finland’s long-lasting contribution to international peace-building efforts, and also as a symbol of deep friendship between our peoples.

We also had the opportunity to discuss, of course, foreign policy and defence issues, including the situation in Ukraine. Finland and Cyprus are on the right side of history against the illegal Russian invasion in Ukraine. We discussed the situation in the Middle East and, of course, the transatlantic relations. At the same time, Cyprus attaches particular importance to these files, also in view of our upcoming European Union (EU) Council Presidency in the first half of 2026. At the same time, we will aim, during our presidency, to reinforce ties with like-minded partners, such as the United States and, the United Kingdom, enhancing EU bonds with the Middle East and the Gulf countries, and continuing our multifaceted assistance to Ukraine”.

(RM/GS/KA)

Press statements by the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the President of the Republic of Finland

You may also like