President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades announced that Cyprus will donate 2.5 million euros to the Greek Air Force as a gesture of solidarity after the death of two Greek pilots following the crash on Monday a Phantom fighter jet.

President Anastasiades, accompanied by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visited today Mati –an area on the east coast of the Attica region affected by devastating fires in 2018– to lay the foundation stone for the construction of a social housing complex and a park, which will be built with the contribution of the Republic of Cyprus.

Referring to the decision of the Cypriot government to donate 2.5 million euros for the Greek Air Force, Anastasiades said that this donation is also an expression of solidarity.

"As a sign of solidarity with the Hellenic Republic and the Greek people, the Cypriot government has decided to contribute 2.5 million euros”, Anastasiades said, while explaining that the Greek government will decide how to allocate a part of this donation to the Air Force while the remaining part will be dedicated in memory of the heroic pilots.

On the issue of Cyprus' donation for the projects in Mati, Anastasiades underlined that this was also a gesture of solidarity with the Hellenism from mainland Greece "so supportive to us in critical times."

As he explained, one million euros donated by Cypriot citizens and businesses will be used to create the park and ten million euros provided by the Republic of Cyprus will be invested for the construction of ten buildings of social housing, each with 14 apartments.

Finally, Nicos Anastasiades noted that his presence in Greece during these last days of his presidential term is greatly emotional for him. "Even after the Presidency, I will continue to fight for peace, freedom of our country, and social justice," he concluded.