By Aline Davidian
PRESIDENTIAL candidate George Iacovou yesterday backtracked on earlier statements opposing the deployment of the S-300 missiles, saying he would work for their arrival and installation if elected president.
On Monday, he had told Sigma TV that the missile order was jeopardising the settlement process and that he would cancel the order if elected.
But yesterday Iacovou said he would strive in co-operation with the Greek government for the “arrival and installation” of the missiles in Cyprus.
Iacovou, a nominally independent candidate, is backed by left-wing Akel and right-wing Diko.
Iacovou said his earlier comments that the missiles’ arrival would “demolish” interest on the Cyprus problem in fact referred to assertions made by foreign observers.
“Those who we have said will develop an initiative for a solution to the Cyprus problem simultaneously say the missiles should not arrive,” he explained.
He pointed out the defensive nature of the S-300 missiles and said their purchase constituted part of the island’s defence strategy.
Turkey had already armed herself with Popeye missiles bought from Israel, he said, so purchasing the S-300 missiles should have no effect on the bi- communal discussions over the Cyprus problem.
“It is an additional weapon in our arsenal,” said Iacovou.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Yiorgos Charalambides said yesterday it would be “naivety” on the part of the government not to expect an international response to the deployment of the missiles.
But this very response, he continued, should be one of the reasons prompting these countries to secure a solution to the Cyprus problem.
“President Clerides has repeatedly stated that the S-300s would not arrive… if the specific talks on demilitarisation yielded such a positive result that there was indeed demilitarisation, or if talks on the Cyprus problem were in a good state,” Charalambides said.
The Defence Minister also pointed out that Cyprus would assume responsibility for the missiles after their delivery from Russia and that all necessary measures to this end had been taken.
On a more general tack, Iacovou yesterday aimed another salvo at Clerides over his handling of the Cyprus problem, saying his supposedly “courageous” ideas had “given the green light” for European officials to undermine Cyprus as an entity, reinforcing the ‘TRNC’.
But government spokesman Manolis Christofides was dismissive of the claim: he said Iacovou and his Akel supporters were “leading the public astray” with such “sycophantic” statements.
Christofides told his daily press briefing that numerous Security Council resolutions proved that “we refer to one and only government and one (political) entity”.
Also airing his opinion on the S-300s, right-wing New Horizons candidate Nicos Koutsou said the issue of the missiles and the military alliance with Greece should not be used for electoral purposes.
Speaking at a news conference in Limassol yesterday, Koutsou said his party was “definitely for the instalment of the (missile) system” since there was little prospect of a solution to the Cyprus problem or demilitarisation.
Referring to the current discussions as to the existence of an American initiative on the problem, Koutsou deemed them “unnecessary and misleading”, and an attempt to distance public opinion from the important issues.
He predicted little progress in the national problem and said Turkey’s aggressive tactics were increasing.
Koutsou also stressed that none of the positions he had put forward so far pre-determined his party’s decision in the second round of the February presidential elections.
