"Recognizing the critical importance of protecting religious freedoms and supporting minorities in the Middle East, I decided to proceed with this appointment, " Christodoulides told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview. "We aim to work for the protection of Christians and other minorities through dialogue with states in the region and neighboring countries to strengthen their rights and promote sustainable solutions to the challenges they face but also to raise awareness in the European Union of this issue and to support the European Union's efforts on taking under consideration the rights of these religious groups in our region."
President Christodoulides is set to appoint Thessalia Salina Shambos on Monday to serve as Special Representative of the Republic of Cyprus for Religious Freedoms and Protections of Minorities in the Middle East, per the outlet. Shambos currently serves as political director of Cyprus's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was the nation's former ambassador to Israel. The news comes just before Christmas and shortly after the fall of Bashar Assad's regime, which will cause Christians to face more difficulties. However, Christodoulides believes Christians can be protected with the help of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
"I will tell you what I mentioned to President Trump when I talked on the phone with him: Cyprus is a predictable, reliable partner of the United States in this region," Christodoulides told Breitbart. "If we work together, I think we can fully safeguard Christians' rights in the region."
Cyprus's Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, praised Shambos' appointment and elaborated on the country's ambitious initiatives to prioritize religious freedom and engagement with the Middle East. In the first half of 2026, Cyrpus will serve as the Council President of the European Union.
"We have the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2026. There is a set of priorities for each country that is charing that council," Kombos said. "One of our priorities is an emphasis being on the Middle East, and that is something we will put into place in that we intend to make the region one of our priorities. Through that lens, we could be advancing initiatives on how we could deepen relations with the Gulf countries and of course with all the parties in the Middle East. In addition to that, we are also focused on the security dimension of the European Union in terms of defense and so on. So, we understand there are various propositions from the US in terms of budget commitments and so forth, so we are willing to push for that for a very simple reason: because we are not a member of NATO. We are one of the four EU member states that is not a member of NATO, not because of our unwillingness to be or not, but because of Turkey. So, the better the security arrangements are with the US, the better it is for Cyprus security as well. So, there is a bridge in our relation to that because we are willing to advocate for it."
