Cyprus Officials forbidden to enter Russia after media clash

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced a ban on the entry of citizens – officials of the Republic of Cyprus, connected to the revocation of accreditation and the expulsion of the correspondent of the Russian government's newspaper from Cyprus last fall.

A press release from the Ministry's Press Service states that Cyprus's Ambassador to Moscow, Kypros Georgallis, was informed of responsive measures due to the "unacceptable" actions of Cypriot authorities in October 2023 against Alexander Gasiuk, correspondent of "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" accredited in Nicosia, and D. Doinikov, a staff member of the Russian Embassy in Cyprus, as mentioned in the brief statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The entry into our country is prohibited for officials of the Republic of Cyprus directly involved in provocation, according to the federal Law No. 114-FZ of August 15, 1996, regarding the process of exiting the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation," concludes the Russian statement.

According to information from the Cyprus News Agency (KYPE), three officials from the Ministry of Interior of Cyprus are affected, as described by a diplomatic source, without disclosing their names.

Moreover, according to the same source's assessment, today's reaction from the Russian side, after three and a half months, compared to similar incidents with other EU member countries, expresses Moscow's willingness to de-escalate the crisis with a measured response rather than escalate it.

On October 6 of the previous year, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had lodged a protest, condemning in strong terms the "unacceptable and provocative actions of the authorities" of Cyprus, claiming that, under the pretext of revoking the residence permit of the Russian journalist with the customary charge of "threatening national security," the Cypriot secret services attempted to arrest him using brute force for subsequent deportation.

[With information sourced from CNA]