Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou, said on Thursday that as an independent state, which is member of the EU, Cyprus determines its international relations and its foreign policy accordingly, without this affecting or constituting an obstacle to its excellent relations with Russia. The spokesman stressed that Cyprus relations with other countries should not annoy anyone.
The government and the President of the Republic decide about the foreign policy of the country and as an EU member state Cyprus follows the block’s policy, Prodromou underlined responding to questions by journalists about Nicosia’s position vis-a-vis statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zaharova, who said on Wednesday that “the further militarisation of the island and its involvement in the implementation of American and NATO plans will inevitably lead to dangerous and destabilising consequences for Cyprus itself”.
Prodromou said that there is no effort underway to militarise Cyprus, adding that “on the contrary were are trying to solve the Cyprus problem, which is a problem related to the presence of an occupation army on the island and we want this army to leave the country.”
The spokesman also noted that Cyprus has international agreements with a lot of states with which it maintains close relations, and in this framework it provides facilities for purely humanitarian reasons.
He stressed that in the framework of its trilateral cooperation schemes Cyprus constantly develops its relations with other states, taking into consideration the Cypriots’ interests and the aim of promoting stability and security in the region.
Moreover he indicated that security in the region is threatened by other factors and more specifically by Turkey’s actions.
Prodromou noted that during the telephone conversation which the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Russia, Nicos Christodoulides and Sergey Lavrov, had on Wednesday afternoon, the friendly and close relations between the two countries were confirmed, adding that these relations are stable. Moreover, he added, the two ministers discussed about a future exchange of visits.
The spokesman said that as an EU member state Cyprus abides by the EU policies, adding at the same time that any decisions which are taken by the government of the Republic serve the Cypriot interests.
He noted that this does mean that there is confrontation between Cyprus and third countries as Russia, “with which we maintain special relations.”
Prodromou stressed that no one must be annoyed by the fact that Cyprus is trying to play the role of a pillar of stability in the region.
He noted that in this framework Cyprus has very close relations with Israel, with the Palestinians, with Egypt, with Jordan and the Arab countries of the region and is constantly trying to extend these relations with EU countries as well.
The spokesman said that these relations of cooperation must not annoy anyone and that the facilities which Cyprus provides to countries with which it cooperates must not be considered and are not related to military activities.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.
(Cyprus News Agency)
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