President Demetris Christofias has sent a letter of condolences to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway Jens Stoltenberg, after the deadly bomb blast in Oslo and the shooting in Utoeya.

“It is with great shock and profound sorrow that we have received news of the heinous attacks in Norway, which caused the loss of dozens of innocent lives and left many injured,“ President Christofias said in his letter, according to an official press release.

“On behalf of the Government and the people of Cyprus, as well as on my own behalf, I wish to convey our deepest condolences to the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Norway and especially to the families of the victims,“ Christofias added.

“In these difficult moments, I would like to assure you of our solidarity, support and friendship. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration,“ he concludedFirst indications are that no Cypriots are among the victims of the two deadly attacks in Oslo and Utoeya, Director of the Division of Schengen, Consular Affairs and Crisis Management at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andreas Zenonos has told CNA.

 “From the information and the indications we have so far, we have no reason to believe that there are Cypriots among the victims. Having said that however, we are waiting for the official data to be released by the Norwegian authorities, which have not issued a list with the names of those killed and injured,“ Zenonos noted.

He said that Cyprus’ Ambassador to Sweden, accredited to Norway, George Shakallis, and Cyprus` Honorary Consul in Norway are in contact with the authorities in Norway which have assured them that as soon as the list with the names of those killed and injured is ready it will be released. “Therefore we are expecting the data to be released by the competent authorities,“ Zenonos said, adding that they are also in contact with the Embassy of Greece in Norway.

“The Norwegian authorities have informed us that they have to establish the identities of all victims and all those injured to be able to announce names. When the list is ready and released they will inform us as well,“ he added. Zenonos said there are very few Cypriots living permanently in Norway and that Cyprus` Consul has contacted their President who didn`t have any information from any families about the possibility of any Cypriot being killed or injured. “We have not had any calls from their families here to express any concerns either,” Zenonos said, adding that “therefore we consider that they are all fine.“