Foreign Ministry emphasizes strong ties with Cyprus

Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants emphasized on Thursday that the relationship between Lebanon and Cyprus is founded on a long history of diplomatic cooperation. This statement followed Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s warning to Cyprus against allowing Israel to use its air bases to launch attacks on Lebanon in the event of a war.

The ministry’s statement affirmed that there is continuous and ongoing communication and consultation at the highest levels between Lebanon and Cyprus to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Earlier, LBCI television quoted Foreign Ministry officials stating that the one-day closure of the Cypriot embassy on Thursday was unrelated to Nasrallah’s remarks. They explained that the closure had been previously scheduled for administrative reasons related to visa fee adjustments and that visa application processing would resume the next day.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides clarified on Wednesday that Cyprus is not involved in any military operations in the region.

Nasrallah had warned that allowing Israeli use of Cypriot airports and bases to target Lebanon would implicate the Cypriot government in the conflict, and that Hezbollah would then consider Cyprus part of the war.