Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou οn the partial lifting of the arms embargo by the US
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 3rd September 2020, Nicosia
With regards the partial lifting of the embargo on the sale of arms by the United States to the Republic of Cyprus, it must be said that the way this is being done this represents a very small step forward with an unacceptable decision that was taken by the United States in 1987. Turkey invaded Cyprus, has been illegally occupying Cyprus since then and the US instead of punishing the perpetrator namely Turkey, punished the victim who was the Republic of Cyprus. So today the US are taking a very small step forward.
It is therefore inconceivable that the government is engaging in triumphalism about this very small step that has been made.
However, there are other issues too. At what cost is the US moving in this direction? Both Undersecretaries of state who have announced the partial lifting of the embargo, but also the US ambassador here in Cyprus have made their position quite clear: this will be done on the precondition that the Republic of Cyprus will ruin its relations with the Russian Federation and not permit Russian ships to dock in Cypriot ports.
Our position on the issue of money laundering is very clear. Whoever is involved in money laundering must be prosecuted whether he is Russian, American or of any other nationality. However, the United States is demanding that the Republic of Cyprus undermines our relations with the Russian Federation for this very small step that they will take in the direction of lifting the embargo.
I also want to express our displeasure because the government tried to send a message that has nothing to do with reality. That the time chosen by the US to do this sends out a strong message to Turkey. The US Ambassador herself and the Undersecretaries of State who announced the partial lifting of the embargo have made it clear that this has nothing to do with Turkey. And I also want to remind the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Anastasiades government and ruling DISY party that just a few days ago the American President D. Trump characterized the Turkish President T. Erdogan as a very important player on the international chessboard.
