Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrived in Cyprus at 10 a.m. on Monday on his first foreign visit as prime minister. The visit was symbolic as it is a longstanding convention that leaders of each country visit the other following their election.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides met Tsipras at the airport. In Nicosia, Tsipras met with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. During a joint press conference, the new Greek leader said that the steps that the countries need to take have to be careful.

“Greece and Cyprus are two important pylons of stability in the turbulent Mediterranean region,” said Tsipras, adding that both countries are bound by history, a common European future. He said that Greece would support Cyprus for a fair and viable solution to the long-standing Cyprus dispute.

Tsipras refered to the infringement of territorial rights to the European Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cyprus and violation of international law by Turkey through the activities of the vessel Barbaros in the area.

Regarding the economic crisis, Tsipras said that Europe needs to aid growth and leave scaremongering tactics. He underlined that Greece and Cyprus aren’t just two little countries in the EU but without them the EU would be mutilated. He spoke of the replacement of the troika of Greece’s lenders in the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund as a “necessary development.”