Cyprus’ interest and duty is not to accept obediently whatever certain forces and circles are promoting, but to project positions of principles

Statement by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL A.Kyprianou

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 11th September 2018

The President of the ruling DISY party in an interview he gave said that Russia's national, energy and geopolitical interests no longer coincide with the interests of Cyprus. This has understandably provoked the reaction of the Russian Federation.

• The President of DISY is the leader of the ruling party. He must be extremely careful in his referencesto foreign states, let alone with regards a member of the UN Security Council, with whom our country has always had excellent relations. Both onthe level of the two peoples, but also on a governmental level, Cyprus and Russia are connectedby long-standing ties of friendship and cooperation.
• Russia, like the former Soviet Union did previously too, adheres and upholds positions of principles on the Cyprus problem. It is the country that has supported us whenever we needed it in the UN Security Council. Russiaagain reiteratedthis yesterday, with the statementissued by its Embassy here in Nicosia whereby it expressed its support for the solution of the Cyprus problem based on Bizonal, Bicommunal Federation and the relevant decisions of the UN. We really wonder exactly what the questioning of these clear positions supported by Russia is aiming at.
• The DISY President, for some time now, isrepeatedly and more frequently reiterating his belief in "Euroatlanticism" and the "Cyprus belongs to the West" doctrine. It is indeed interesting that DISY has never been more vigorous in developing its relations with the United States than during the administration of Donald Trump. We set two questions:

• We wonder,will the solution of the Cyprus problem be promoted if we become a tail of the US or anybody else? What hasour previous history teach us?
• We wonder,will Cyprus' security and peace in the Eastern Mediterranean beenhanced if we align ourselves with the West’s and the Trumpgovernment’splans for the region? Neither the historical past, nor current developments show this to be the case.

AKEL’s position is different. A small, but sovereign and independent country like the Republic of Cyprus, has no interest in aligning itself with one or the other camp. It has to develop relations with all the states of the world and take positions of principles on international issues. Even within the EU itself, Cyprus’ interest and duty is not to accept obediently and uncriticallywhatever certain forces and circles are promoting, but to project positions of principles; positions that serve the interests of our country and people, peace and security, in Cyprus, the wider region and throughout the world.