Nicosia, May 18 (CTK special correspondent) – Cyprus will reopen its embassy in Prague that should start operating in September, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said after a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides on Thursday.
Zaoralek invited Kasoulides to take part in the embassy’s official opening.
The foreign ministers also debated the EU future during their meeting.
Kasoulides told Zaoralek about his experience with the presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CE), which the Czech Republic would take over from Cyprus on Friday.
“The number of Czech tourists travelling to Cyprus has been rising. This is why fully functioning diplomatic missions will suit us very well and we welcome this,” Zaoralek said, commenting on the decision to reopen the Cypriot embassy in Prague.
It was temporarily closed in July 2013 for austerity reasons.
Zaoralek also asked Kasoulides for support in the talks about the relocation of the seat of the European Banking Authority (EBA).
The institution will move from London after Britain’s departure from the EU. The Czech Republic is one of the countries striving for the EBA’s seat.
“We are negotiating on all sides to create a good position for the Czech Republic,” Zaoralek told CTK.
He and Kasoulides also touched upon the future developments in the EU.
Zaoralek said the EU members must deal with the rising differences between the living standards of the particular states’ inhabitants.
“There are differences between the North and the South, the East and the West and these differences pose serious problems for the future. If we do not tackle them, they might become a very dangerous factor during any other crisis,” Zaoralek said.
He also expressed interest in the development of the conflict between the northern and southern part of Cyprus.
The island has been divided since 1974. Its northern part that is strongly linked to Turkey declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983. However, except for Turkey, no other countries have recognised it.
