Former MP and former DISY deputy president Nikos Tornaritis has said that Averof Neophytou’s proposal to review energy sanctions against Russia raises serious questions about the Republic of Cyprus’s European orientation, credibility and national objectives. He set out his position in a written statement responding to Mr Neophytou.
A political rather than economic position
According to Mr Tornaritis, the proposal cannot be treated as a simple economic position. He describes it instead as a political intervention with broader implications, affecting the country’s European credibility.
This, he argues, in turn affects Cyprus’s ability to seek more active European Union involvement in efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.
Implications for the Cyprus issue
Mr Tornaritis links the matter directly to Cyprus’s expectations of the EU in relation to Turkey.
“How, then, can we ask the European Union to use its influence decisively against Turkey if, at the same time, political interventions from Cyprus appear to be proposing the easing of corresponding pressure tools against Russia?” he asks.
Foreign policy of a small state
Mr Tornaritis also states that “the foreign policy of a small state cannot afford contradictions”.
He adds that this applies especially to the Republic of Cyprus, which continues to experience the consequences of the Turkish invasion and occupation. Cyprus, he notes, bases a large part of its international diplomatic efforts on the principles of international law, sovereignty, territorial integrity and European solidarity.
