We are following a unified unifying policy that the EU is pursuing with regard to Russia, President Nicos Anastasiades said tonight.
In his statements to journalists, while attending the presentation of the book by former Speaker of the Parliament Mr. Yiannakis Omirou, the President of the Republic, asked about the exploitation of natural gas in the Cypriot EEZ, said that "we continue the policy of exploiting both our own and the deposits of the region. It is no coincidence that the EU chose to finance the study for the construction of EastMed, if and when it is viable or if it is offered as an alternative route for the supply of natural gas and decoupling from a specific market."
Asked about the geostrategic role of Cyprus, the President said that "so far our foreign policy testifies to this. Our trilateral cooperation with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the excellent relations with Lebanon, Palestine, the excellent relations we have developed with the Gulf countries in this direction indicate that the Cypriot government is moving in this direction."
Asked whether with the persecution of Russian oligarchs Cyprus should now move in a way that funds are not lost, the President said that "we are following a single unifying policy that the EU is developing. We believe that Russia has over time supported principled positions on the Cyprus problem. However, the latest actions, unfortunately, violate international law, so that we, as a matter of principle, and as a country that has been invaded and violated international law, are obliged to maintain our position.
We have nothing against the Russian people, we have nothing that creates problems with our citizens. The issue is vertical disagreement with the specific actions of the Russian government."
(PM/SX)
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