The government’s one-dimensional foreign policy creates consequences

 

Statement by the General Secretary of AKEL A. Kyprianou

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 4^th August 2020, Nicosia

It is with particular concern and intense reflection that we are following the developments in relation to the Russian Federation’s moves to proceed with a change in the Agreement to avoid double taxation with Cyprus.

The government is suggesting there’s a misunderstanding. How is it possible for the Government to tell us that such a very serious issue is a matter of misunderstanding?

The Government must reply in a convincing way to the following questions.

1. Are we finally paying the price for the one-sided and one-dimensional foreign policy implemented by the government ruling forces by ignoring traditional friends of Cyprus?
2. Is Russia’s reaction perhaps also related and one of its responses to the short-sighted approach of the Anastasiades-DISY government which was celebrating the Rubio-Menendez law, a law obliging Cyprus to annul its long-standing relations with other states members of the UN Security Council, namely Russia and China and to become a loyal follower of the United States?
3. Does the fact that interwoven interests and corruption in our country have reached new heights contributed to this change?

The government does not seem to understand that the one-dimensional foreign policy it is pursuing will also have consequences for our country’s economy. Russia has been a pillar support for the Cyprus economy, exports and tourism for many years. The agreement to avoid double taxation is an additional lever for developing economic relations between Cyprus and Russia, which at the moment, in the midst of a pandemic, we must maintain and upgrade.

The government must act immediately to prevent any negative consequences.