Current affairs

At the presidential session on Friday 19 February, the President of the Republic decided to appoint new Ambassadors to Moscow, Soul, Tel Aviv and Nicosia. They will assume their functions on 1 September 2016.

The Embassies of Finland, Sweden and Norway organized a discussion event Building Trust for a United Cyprus in Nicosia on Tuesday April 15th. The goal of the event was to enhance dialogue and trust between the two communities at a moment when the negotiations on reunification are ongoing, but no solution has not yet been reached.

The frozen negotiations for reunification of Cyprus were resumed after the leaders of Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on the island adopted a joint declaration to re-launch the negotiations in February. The chief negotiators of both communities also attended the seminar, held in Brussels on 6-7 March, that addressed the economic benefits of potential reunification.

In their meeting, Foreign Ministers of Finland and Cyprus discussed the situation in Cyprus and its neighbourhood. In addition to interior and international issues of Cyprus, the topics on the agenda included Syria and the Middle East. The Ministers also discussed the forthcoming EU Presidency of Cyprus and the importance of promoting the status of women and the international Arms Trade Treaty.

The President of the Republic appointed today, 23 March, the following heads of mission:

Alexander Downer, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, is visiting Finland on 7–8 June. In his meeting with Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, Downer briefed the foreign minister about the current situation regarding negotiations. “We hope that by the end of the year, it will be possible for the negotiations to be concluded,” Downer stressed.

Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis of Cyprus, who visited Finland on 30–31 January, officially thanked the Finnish Government and thousands of Finns who participated in the peacekeeping operation on Cyprus. At the press conference held together with her Finnish colleague, Minister Kanerva, Kozakou-Marcoullis hoped for assistance from Finland in future as well, until the question of Cyprus has been solved. Kanerva, for his part, said that cooperation between small countries is important.

The Government of Finland discussed in its evening session on 7 November the shooting incident that had taken place in the Jokela School Centre. After the meeting, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen extended the Government’s heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of victims of the incident. During the evening session, the Government observed a short period of silence to commemorate the victims.