The meeting of Justice Minister Anna Procopiou with Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Kvir aimed solely at thanking the representative of the neighbouring country for the immediate dispatch of a team that helped fight the fires on the island, government sources have told CNA underlining the island’s position does not deviate from the EU approach.

“There was no political expedience as regards this meeting. Our position on issues related to political sensitivities does not of course deviate from the EU approach. This is our horizontal policy and this is what applies in this case as well,” the sources said, commenting on criticism over the meeting.

They added that the meeting with the Israeli official was an informal one that was not prescheduled but was arranged on an ad hoc basis at his own request as he represented the state of Israel and is the competent minister for the aircraft and the crews that were in Cyprus.

The sources underlined that the meeting took place solely for the purpose of thanking the representative of the neighbouring country for the immediate dispatch of a supporting team for extinguishing the fires.

The government sources also thanked all partners that expressed the intention to contribute in putting the fire out.

They underlined that particular gratitude was expressed for Palestine’s intention to send a team to Cyprus just after the visit of President Nikos Christodoulides to Ramallah last week, “a fact that highlights the historical solidarity” between the two states.

EU member state officials are free to meet with anyone they think necessary bilaterally, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said on Wednesday, commenting on the visit of the highly controversial Israeli politician to Cyprus.