U.S. President Joe Biden met Wednesday with the president of Cyprus, the nearest European Union nation to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, to discuss new cease-fire efforts by the U.S. and mediators in the Middle East.
The small Mediterranean island has played a critical role in efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza since the war between Hamas and Israel began more than a year ago.
President Nikos Christodoulides said Biden and White House officials briefed him on the latest stepped-up efforts by the U.S. administration and other mediators but declined to offer further details about the discussion.
“The most important, the number one priority of the international community now is to have a cease-fire in the region,” Christodoulides told reporters after his Oval Office talks with Biden.
He added that the situation on the ground changes daily, but said he was “quite optimistic” that a Lebanon cease-fire deal could emerge in one to two weeks.