From October to November, when the creation of a maritime corridor for the transport of humanitarian aid was on the discussion agenda, few believed that such an endeavour could be realised.
Apart from Nikos Christodoulides, Konstantinos Kombos, and two or three others, it was hard to find anyone else in Cyprus who believed in the feasibility of a maritime corridor for transporting humanitarian aid. None of them ever bothered to look beyond the statements and see what those referring to the humanitarian corridor were actually talking about.
What some in the government were discussing in October and November was not different from what we all see being implemented today. Cyprus’s role was not and will not become different.
As the easternmost flank of the European Union, it offers one of its ports to transport aid and also provides spaces for the collection and inspection of humanitarian aid before being loaded onto ships.
Those of us who were closely following the matter knew that this would practically be the process for transporting aid. Just as we knew the extent of Cyprus’s capabilities regarding delivering aid because those involved in the project from the Cypriot side told us so.
They knew what Cyprus could achieve. They were well aware from the beginning that Cyprus did not have the means and capabilities to transport the aid itself. They knew months in advance that the transportation of aid depended on other countries stronger than Cyprus, which had the means.
Where Cyprus could act effectively was not with ships and steamers but diplomatically, and it did so with great success (as evidenced by the result today). It spoke with all those involved in the region and all Palestinian sides. And talking to them, we had a picture that: a) if Israel did not agree, nothing could be implemented, b) if powerful states such as the USA, France, Britain, etc., were not involved, the aid could not be transferred to Gaza, c) there had to be a ready mechanism so that when the aid reached Cyprus, it could immediately leave for Gaza, d) all Palestinian sides (which are not just one) had a different view on the matter, and e) we knew that there were also countries in the region that wanted to see the cargo go through them.
Unfortunately, beyond the problems from the East that arose, which are intertwined with the broader situation in the Middle East, Nicosia also faced significant scepticism from the West, from those who under normal circumstances should have collaborated with small Cyprus to help create a humanitarian aid transport corridor.
Sadly, some need to weigh this very carefully, the greatest scepticism for this project, which President Christodoulides dubbed “Amaltheia,” came from Athens. When I wrote on December 10, 2023, that “the humanitarian corridor is being implemented,” messages arrived again that this would not happen.
And some of those sending the messages were citing what they were told from Athens! This was not the first time this happened; whenever I happened to write on this specific topic, messages about what Athens says and that “they are laughing in Brussels” would follow.
Even very recently, Josep Borrell, speaking to an official of the Cypriot government, insisted that this corridor would never happen. An experienced politician like Josep Borrell, responsible for the EU’s foreign policy, instead of questioning what small and insignificant Cyprus said could be done, could have stepped forward and worked to make it happen. He stayed back and remained a spectator.
As did some in Athens, where their ego seemed larger than coming together to cooperate with Cyprus, which, as we said, has nothing more to offer than a port and some warehouses.
It seems that the USA was much better informed and took much more seriously what was discussed with Nicosia than the European partners did. The Americans knew what needed to be done, which is why they acted promptly and decisively. And then, of course, Ursula von der Leyen came to involve the European Union in the project, as it happened.
And after all these, came the applauders. Those who are known to push their way to the front, to the first line. Most of them, however, had adopted the opposite opinion during this time and were sure that this would never happen and that… “we are celebrating alone”!
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