Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou remained tight-lipped today regarding a reported police operation aimed at deterring migration flows from Lebanon.
Phileleftheros reported that a plan, coordinated by government ministers, the National Guard, and police, was launched to curb migrant arrivals.
Ioannou, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the Temporary Coordinating Council of the Nicosia Provincial Organisation, said that the government expects to see the results of the measures it has implemented regarding migration in the coming days.
In response to a question about the measures being taken to halt the migrant arrivals and the cooperation with Lebanon to prevent boats from departing for Cyprus, Ioannou referred to the visit of a Cypriot delegation, led by the President of the Republic, to Lebanon, during which the Lebanese authorities pledged to do their utmost to prevent boat departures.
“A visit by the competent Commissioner, as well as by the President of the European Commission with the President of the Republic, is also imminent (in Lebanon). Beyond that, we as the Republic of Cyprus, have taken some other measures to deter flows, such as the one we announced on Saturday concerning the suspension of the examination of new applications, which was also approved by the European Commission, and we await to see the results of our actions,” said the Minister of the Interior.
Furthermore, when asked about the operation carried out by the Marine Police since yesterday, the Minister declined to comment, stating that it was an operational plan.
When asked if what was implemented yesterday was plan B, Ioannou replied in the negative and said that plan B would be officially announced if and when necessary.
Finally, when asked if there was any intention to revise the measures, the Minister noted that all measures are reviewed according to their effectiveness.
