On Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 January, the Cypriot Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, and Defence, Vasilis Palmas, supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both Ukraine and Greenland, pointing out that their country had itself been occupied for more than 50 years by a NATO member, Turkey.
“We are a Member State which, when we speak of the importance of respect for international law, territorial integrity, democracy, sovereignty and independence, whether in relation to Ukraine, the Kingdom of Denmark or Greenland, is speaking from first-hand experience. Cyprus has been living with the consequences of violation of international law for over 50 years. It is the last (EU) Member State under military occupation”, stressed Marilena Raouna. More than 40,000 Turkish soldiers are still believed to be present in the occupied northern part of the island.
“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of a Member State will be taken very seriously. We stand in full solidarity with Denmark (...) We are working to facilitate efforts to complement the Danish approach. We will continue to support and do everything in full accordance with the approach of our Danish friends”, added Constantinos Kombos.
On the same day in Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated that it was up to Denmark and Greenland to decide on the future of Greenland. “We are in constant dialogue with Denmark and Greenland to understand their needs”, she added. However, she declined to comment on the possibility of invoking Article 42.7 of the TEU Treaty, relating to mutual support between Member States, in the event of the island being taken over by the United States. In Parliament, the Conference of Presidents of the political groups (CoP) adopted the draft declaration of the groups forming the “von der Leyen” majority, which calls on the European Commission and the European Council to define “concrete and tangible support” for Greenland and Denmark in accordance with the principles of the EU, international law and the United Nations Charter (see EUROPE 13783/6). See the declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/k8z
At the same time, ahead of a meeting in Washington on Greenland, Denmark announced that, as of today, it was strengthening its presence in and around Greenland, “in close cooperation with NATO allies”, in order to “develop operational capabilities in the specific Arctic conditions and consolidate the Alliance’s presence in the Arctic, thereby contributing to European and transatlantic security”. According to the Danish Ministry of Defence, the exercises planned for 2026 could include protecting critical infrastructure, assisting local authorities, hosting allied troops, deploying fighter aircraft and conducting naval operations. Sweden has also announced, by way of its Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, that it will be sending military personnel to Greenland to prepare the next stages of the Danish exercise ‘Operation Arctic Endurance’.
As far as Ukraine is concerned, “as a matter of principle and in accordance with international law”, Cyprus has supported European positions from the outset and condemned the Russian invasion, Vasilis Palmas pointed out. “We could not adopt a different position, because Cyprus itself suffered and was the victim of the Turkish invasion 52 years ago”, he said.
While Russia and Cyprus have long been close, Mr Kombos promised that “nothing that previous Presidencies have done on Ukraine will be diminished during our Presidency”.
For example, “with regard to preconceived ideas about the Russian presence or influence in Cyprus, around 43,000 shell companies closed their doors (between 2018 and 2023), deposits of Russian assets in our banking system fell by 87% between 2015 and 2024 and represented 1.5% of the total in December 2024”, the Minister explained, adding that around 126,000 bank accounts had been closed.
In January 2025, assets frozen in Cyprus amounted to €901 million from investment companies, €307 million from administrative service providers and €90 million from other entities, according to the Cypriot government. In addition, Cyprus, which was heavily dependent on the Russian army, has ceased its purchases and related services from Moscow.
Transatlantic partnership. Throughout its presidential term, Cyprus is promoting a more autonomous Europe, but that is open to the world. So, despite the complicated relations between the United States and the EU, the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs called for these relations to be strengthened. “I have the firm belief that there are opportunities and points of convergence especially with the American side on certain files which we should explore to a full extent. Issues relating for example to how one perceives threats relating to migration and terrorism. So, we should try to intensify dialogue. We don’t have the option”, he explained. Constantinos Kombos also acknowledged that the situation had changed and that it was necessary to be “realistic and pragmatic” in this relationship.
The previous day in Berlin, while acknowledging that transatlantic relations “are not as good as they used to be”, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, reiterated that the United States was “an indispensable ally”. “In every Alliance, there are moments of open disagreement, but Europe will not junk 80 years of transatlantic relations”, she added.
Middle East. While Ukraine, Greenland and the situation in Gaza are at the centre of Europe’s concerns, the Minister for Foreign Affairs also wanted Europe to look at the situation in the Red Sea and in Yemen with the attacks by the Houthis. “These actions have an impact on shipping, security and so on. This is why we believe it is necessary to strengthen our cooperation”, he pleaded, also expressing surprise that the Houthis are not considered a terrorist organisation by the EU.
In his view, the situation in the region has worsened considerably with the terrorist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia and the situation in Sudan, “which is a huge humanitarian crisis that nobody is talking about enough”.
Asked about Iran, Constantinos Kombos said that discussions on sanctions had begun at technical level within the EU Council. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Mathieu Bion)