Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Tuesday expressed his “steadfast solidarity” with Qatar amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, during a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

Kombos said after the meeting he had held a “substantive exchange” with Al Thani, with the meeting focusing on “concerning developments in the region and the strategic importance of the … partnership” between Cyprus and Qatar.

“I reiterated Cyprus’ steadfast solidarity from the very first moment, in light of inexcusable attacks against Qatar and our Gulf partners. Close coordination, maritime security and energy resilience are now imperative. Diplomacy, restraint and dialogue remain the only sustainable path to de-escalation and regional stability,” he said.

Qatar was one of a number of countries hit by Iranian missiles since the outbreak of the conflict at the beginning of last month, with Iran having aimed at gas fields in the country and at the United States’ Al Udeid airbase.

During the opening days of the conflict, Israeli media reported that Qatar had launched its own strikes on Iran, but the Qatari government denied this.

Four Qatari nationals were killed when a military helicopter crashed during a joint training exercise involving Turkish and Qatari servicemen.

Qatari authorities announced at the time that the helicopter had crashed due to a “technical malfunction” while flying above Qatari territorial waters.

Alongside the four Qatari nationals, three Turkish nationals – air force major Sinan Tastekin, and Turkish defence corporation Aselsan employees Suleyman Cemre Kahraman and Ismail Enes Can – were also killed in the crash.

It had been initially reported that Tastekin would be buried in Cyprus, as his wife lives on the island, but he was eventually buried in his hometown, the Turkish city of Isparta, instead.