Kasoulidis: Erdoğan’s claims that they are threatened by Greece are absurd
The Turkish army is in our country, it is present on our island and we fear that the conflict in the Aegean will have a direct effect on us because we will use it as the weak link in the whole case, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulidis.
Speaking to the Bloomberg agency, Mr. Kasoulidis referred to the major issues of the day, regarding the effort to reach an agreement on the imposition of a cap on Russian oil inside the country, Cyprus-Russia relations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the latest statements of the Turkish President Recep. Tayyip Erdogan regarding Greece.
“Hearing Mr. Erdogan insulted that he is threatened by Greece, he would describe it as absurd and ridiculous,” said Mr. Kasoulidis, adding that it is the Turkish President who is threatening and who is manifesting revisionist policies and not Greece. Greece does not threaten anyone. Greece will defend its territory and its islands, in case they are not united”, he pointed out.
We belong to the West, was the answer of Mr. Kasoulidis regarding the relations of the Republic of Cyprus with the West, after the war in Ukraine, stressing that Cyprus wants to consider itself a reliable partner in the EU.
Our relations with Russia have changed, I hope not forever, but certainly things would not be as they were in the past, he noted, to emphasize that Cyprus is very sensitive to issues of territorial integrity, sovereignty, violation of borders. And all this, he said, was negatively affected as far as Ukraine is concerned. “And so our line with our European partners is not only that of condemning the invasion and identifying with them, but also of our participation in the sanctions that were agreed upon.”
Regarding Turkey, he stated that not only did it not participate in the sanctions against Russia, but it intervenes by its abstention.
As far as Cyprus is concerned, it is among the countries that have expressed their opposition to the proposal for a cap on Russian oil, like Hungary, Mr. Kasoulidis emphasized: ”It is easy for the media to place Cyprus together with Hungary. We will see exactly what the proposal is, which so far has not been presented to us, but we are not against it. Usually, we go along with all the other partners”.
Source: RES-MPE