Cyprus mulls Mideast security grouping modelled on NATO, OSCE

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus wants to create a regional organisation to promote security in the Middle East, its president said on Tuesday, saying it could be a platform to anchor stability in one of the world's most volatile neighbourhoods.

Discussing the idea publicly for the first time, President Nikos Christodoulides said Nicosia was working on "maturing the necessary political conditions" to create a regional safety and cooperation organisation.

"If you like, a sort of NATO or a sort of OSCE of the Middle East, that would underline the benefits of promoting regional cooperation," Christodoulides told a conference in Nicosia.

While NATO is a Western military alliance, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the successor to a body set up during the Cold War for the east and west to engage with each other.

Christodoulides said Cyprus was ready to spearhead the initiative, positioning itself as a diplomatic bridge between Europe and its southern neighbours.

EU member Cyprus has operated as an evacuation hub for civilians with foreign nationalities fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, including airlifts from Sudan and other volatile areas.

It also served as a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via a short-lived pier and later via Israel.

(Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

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