President: Turkey's circumvention of sanctions hugely impacts Cyprus

Source: Announcements

The President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Anastasiadis participated today in a preparatory teleconference convened by the President of the European Council Mr. Charles Michel, in view of the forthcoming Brussels Summit which will address, among other things, the situation in Ukraine, the issue of Energy, and EU Security and Defense.

The teleconference was also attended by the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Belgium, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Poland.

During his speech, President Anastasiadis underlined the solidarity of Cyprus with Ukraine and its people as well as its support for the diplomatic efforts made to end the Russian attack. He also mentioned the situation of Ukrainian refugees and the fact that Cyprus is one of the EU Member States that welcomes refugees from Ukraine and provides them with the necessary assistance.

The President of the Republic also referred to the imposed sanctions and argued that at this moment everyone should be primarily focused on filling the gaps in relation to their implementation, noting that the largest gaps in terms of sanctions concern third countries such as Turkey. He stressed that Turkey's refusal to comply with EU sanctions is not only selfish but undermines the intended impact of sanctions. As Turkey continues to militarily occupy part of Cyprus, which is under its absolute control, the circumvention of sanctions on its part has a huge impact on Cyprus.

Furthermore, President Anastasiadis addressed the major issue of food security, in light of the dependence on cereals imported from Russia and Ukraine and the shortages that may arise.

The President of the Republic agreed on the need for an in-depth discussion by EU leaders on how to effectively deal with rising prices.

Finally, he added that Cyprus, in cooperation with the countries of the region, will be able to effectively contribute to EU energy independence by supplying the European market with energy through electricity interconnection projects.