THE RUSSIAN Embassy yesterday sought to play down fears that the crisis in the Caucasus would lead to recognition of the breakaway regime in the north.
Since Russia’s recognition of the breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, its Embassy here in Nicosia has been at pains to stress that Cyprus and the conflict in Georgia are two completely different situations.
However, Russian Ambassador to Ankara, Vladimir Ivanovsky, was recently quoted in a Turkish newspaper suggesting Russia could trade recognition of the self-declared ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ for Turkey’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The comment was made during an interview by a Turkish newspaper with the Ambassador and picked up in yesterday’s local press. Ivanovsky was asked when Russia would recognise the illegal regime in the north, to which the ambassador smiled, replying: “Russia will recognise the ‘TRNC’ as soon as Turkey recognises South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It could be a mutual and simultaneous recognition.”
Russian Embassy spokesman Vladimir Maystrenko yesterday expressed regret that some had taken the ambassador’s comments, deemed to be a joke, out of context and presented them as a serious piece of news.
The spokesman was adamant that Russia did not change its positions from one day to the next and continued to stand by UN resolutions 541 and 550 on Cyprus. He highlighted that the sentence was meant to be taken with a pinch of salt.
“We cannot but express our regret that some people are led astray by such reports and indeed hurry to advise the government of the Republic of Cyprus to make representations to Russia.
“Mr Ivanovsky said it smiling and it is perfectly clear why the ambassador was smiling. Every serious thinking person understands that Russia is not a country which will review its position in the international arena from one day to the next,” he said.
“It’s another classic case where people try to turn the facts on their head. Particularly in the last three weeks, we’ve seen many such cases where white became black and vice-versa, and unfortunately, all this with an anti-Russian sentiment,” said Maystrenko.
Commenting on Ivanovsky’s statements, Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said the government took note of the Russian position that there is no possibility of recognising the illegal entity in the north and that the issue of South Ossetia and Cyprus were two different matters.
According to diplomatic sources, Russia is well aware that Turkey would never recognise South Ossetia or Abkhazia given its close relations with Georgia’s main backer in the West, the USA. The ambassador in Ankara might as well have said, “You’ll be waiting till the cows come home for recognition of the ‘TRNC’,” said the source.
