The President of the Republic noted that Nicosia does not act vindictively “towards anyone”
NICOSIA, December 29. /tass/. The recent strengthening of Cypriot-American relations is not directed against Moscow. This was stated by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Christodoulides in an interview with the newspaper Phileleftheros.
Answering the question whether official Nicosia is risking relations with Russia and China, which are permanent members of the UN Security Council, in the process of establishing closer ties with Washington, the head of the island state said: “We do not act in such a way that our relations with the Americans turn against the Russians. We don’t act vindictively towards anyone. Who are we to take revenge on Russia or China?”
Christodoulides stressed that the island’s authorities are interested in constructive relations with all countries that are members of the UN Security Council, because the Cyprus problem is a priority for Nicosia.
He also noted that in addition to close contacts with the United States, Cyprus actively cooperates with the United Kingdom and EU countries, highlighting the visits to the island made this year by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, and the Presidents of Germany and Italy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sergio Mattarella. “We don’t put all our eggs in one basket,” the Cypriot president said, thereby arguing that the island’s foreign policy did not tilt exclusively towards the United States.
Relations between Nicosia and Washington have significantly strengthened over the past autumn. So, in September, a Roadmap in the field of defense cooperation was signed between the Ministry of Defense of Cyprus and the Pentagon, and in October, the first round of strategic dialogue between Cyprus and the United States took place in Nicosia. Later that month, President Christodoulides visited the White House at the invitation of his American counterpart Joe Biden. And at the end of November, the head of the island state announced that Nicosia was negotiating with Washington on ways for Cyprus to join NATO.
As Russian Ambassador to Cyprus Murat Zyazikov told a TASS correspondent, “Russia always stands for a just world order, and relations between Moscow and Nicosia, which are linked by long-standing friendship, are developing in a constructive manner at the present time.”
According to the head of the Russian diplomatic mission, this was confirmed during his conversation with President Christodoulides, which took place on December 10 at a reception hosted by the command of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus.
