President of the House of Representatives Yiannakis Omirou has expressed his gratitude to Israel for the help it has offered to Cyprus after the deadly blast at the Naval Base near Limassol, which killed 13 persons, injured dozens and knocked down the island`s main power plant.

Omirou met Tuesday with Ambassador of Israel in Nicosia Michael Harari, who expressed his regret for the tragic events at the Naval Base “Evaggelos Florakis“. Israel has sent ten generators of a total capacity of 10 MW to enhance Cyprus` energy needs.

According to an official press release, during the meeting they discussed recent developments in the Cyprus problem. Omirou expressed pessimism as regards the possibility of reaching convergences by October on the core issues in the framework of the ongoing UN-led Cyprus talks.

He referred to “provocative statements” made by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during his illegal visit in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, saying that the statements show Ankara`s increasing intransigence.