Anastasiades: 'No one can portray me as a corrupt person'

Source: Announcements

It is not possible for anyone to make allegations that the President is involved in corrupt or even criminal acts without the matter being investigated by the appropriate authorities, said the President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades today.

In remarks to reporters on the sidelines of the Annual General Assembly of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities in Lefkara, the President of the Republic stated that "it is an issue that (seems to be) an insurmountable problem in the public debate," when asked about his meeting tomorrow on issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and on the issue of the Central Prisons. "I believed that under the current circumstances, and in order to create the necessary conditions for a smooth operation, either of the Prisons Department or of cooperation between various institutions, a meeting should be held to address the existing problems, remove any misinterpretations or misunderstandings so that the state can operate smoothly as it has been operating until recently."

When asked if he believed there would be no conflict as a result of the outcome, the President stated, "I see no reason why there should be conflict; everyone is interested in doing their best to address the problems the country is facing."

When asked about the Anti-Corruption Authority, the President stated that "I have already sent a letter in which I stated, citing the articles of the law establishing the Anti-Corruption Authority, that it is now imposed ex officio, because it is not possible for anyone to make allegations that show the President to be involved in acts of corruption or even criminal offenses and for the competent authorities to remain indifferent - I have not found anything like that, for God's sake - as the law establishing the Authority, Articles 6, 7, and so on, do not allow for that. Indeed, the invitation and challenge is to make any findings of the investigations public."

When asked how much it irritates him that a close associate of his on the Cyprus issue took such action, the President stated that "What Mr. Mavroyiannis did does not bother me. He did not say he was condemning; he simply stated that it should be investigated ex officio. If I have one criticism, it is that when the President is on an important mission abroad, an experienced diplomat does not create problems that might diminish the importance of the visit, in the sense that it might undermine the President's efforts abroad. Nothing more than that."

When asked what he discussed with the Attorney General yesterday, the President stated that "Various issues relating to the legality of bills, referral, petition, and so on were discussed. As you are aware, there is the issue of auction suspension and other issues that needed to be researched in order for the President to make appropriate decisions. Nothing from yesterday's conference had anything to do with the issues that arose and will be addressed tomorrow."