Cyprus takes helm of EU presidency with Zelensky in attendance as Nicosia seeks bridge role to Middle East
Cyprus assumed the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency with a high-profile launch that included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, signaling continuity in EU support for Kyiv and an ambitious regional agenda from Nicosia.
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Zelensky was welcomed at the presidential palace by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides before an opening meeting. “We hope that during your presidency a lot of steps (can be taken) forward, closer to membership in the EU,” Zelensky told Christodoulides in a brief exchange before cameras.
The Ukrainian leader said the discussions would also allow follow-up on a meeting in Paris where the United States backed a broad coalition of Ukraine’s allies in vowing to provide security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire—commitments intended to deter any renewed Russian assault.
A ceremony later in Nicosia marking the start of the term will include Middle Eastern leaders, among them Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, underscoring Cyprus’s pitch to serve as a bridge between Europe and the region. The east Mediterranean island, at a crossroads of trade and conflict zones, is positioning its presidency to link EU priorities with regional stability and humanitarian needs.
Christodoulides said Cyprus’s presidency—its second time at the EU’s helm—aims to boost the bloc’s strategic autonomy and deepen integration in response to global challenges. The agenda lands amid wars on Europe’s doorstep and continued debate inside the bloc over security, energy resilience and enlargement.
Cyprus, which traditionally had close political and cultural ties with Russia, has fully backed EU sanctions on Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine. Many on the island draw parallels between Russia’s war and Turkey’s 1974 invasion of northern Cyprus following a brief coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece—an enduring fault line that still shapes Cyprus’s foreign-policy outlook.
Zelensky’s presence in Nicosia serves as a political signal of continued EU backing as the war with Russia enters a fifth year. With Kyiv seeking to lock in long-term European and transatlantic support, the symbolism of his stop—on day one of an EU presidency—echoes broader efforts to keep Ukraine’s security and membership prospects high on the European agenda.
The gathering of senior EU leadership in Nicosia also highlights the early cohesion Cyprus is seeking to project. Von der Leyen and Costa’s attendance underscores the institutional weight behind the presidency’s kickoff, while the invitation to Middle Eastern counterparts points to Nicosia’s intent to widen dialogue at a time of overlapping crises.
In practical terms, the presidency gives Cyprus responsibility for shaping the EU’s legislative calendar, brokering compromises among member states and representing the bloc in certain negotiations. While the role is largely facilitative, the priorities chosen—and the momentum built—can influence how the EU responds to security, migration, economic competitiveness and climate challenges over the next six months.
Cyprus’s term will also be watched for how it manages politically sensitive files tied to enlargement and neighborhood policy, including Ukraine’s path toward the EU and the bloc’s approach to regional conflicts that reverberate across the Mediterranean.
Ireland is set to take over the rotating presidency in June.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
