Iacovou foreign policy claims ‘insulting’

By Martin Hellicar

FOREIGN Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides yesterday slammed presidential candidate George Iacovou, describing his foreign policy line as ill- informed and “insulting”.

Iacovou, who was Foreign Minister for the Vassiliou government, is President Clerides’s only serious rival for the February 8 polls.

Cassoulides called an afternoon press conference to attack Iacovou’s claims concerning the Common Defence Dogma military pact with Greece and the island’s EU accession course.

“Iacovou’s position on the Dogma is that his aim is to consult with the Greek government on how to reinforce it. But he knows full well that the dogma is functioning smoothly. It is insulting to all the government’s efforts for him to suggest it needs reinforcement,” he said.

He also claimed Iacovou was twisting the facts concerning Cyprus’s EU accession process when he alleged the government’s approach would lead to problems over Turkish Cypriot participation.

Cassoulides said the “parameters” for Turkish Cypriot participation had been defined, “and this is what matters.”

He also said Iacovou had, while Minister, slowed movement towards accession by failing promptly to complete the necessary tour of European capitals. “If Mr Iacovou had stopped visiting Africa

all the time and had not spent so much of his time trying to become UN Secretary General I am certain we would not have had a year’s delay,” Cassoulides said.