Ukraine's Zelenskiy meets Cypriot president as island assumes EU presidency

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, met with Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday (January 7) in Nicosia as the Mediterranean island formally assumes the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Zelenskiy will also later hold talks with EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President, Antonio Costa, before attending a ceremony to mark the start of the EU presidency.

During their meeting Zelenskiy told Christodoulides he hoped that during Cyprus' presidency a lot of steps could be taken forward closer to Ukraine membership in the EU. The meeting, he added, would provide an opportunity to discuss details of a meeting in Paris on Tuesday (January 6), where the United States backed a broad coalition of Ukraine's allies in vowing to provide security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire to support the country if Russia attacks again.

Cyprus, which traditionally had close political and cultural ties with Russia, has fully backed sanctions on Moscow, with many on the island drawing parallels between Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Turkey's invasion of north Cyprus in 1974 after a brief coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece.

Zelenskiy's presence was seen as a political sign of continued EU backing for Kyiv as its war with Russia enters a fifth year.

Production: Deborah Kyvrikosaios/Reuters