THE GOVERNMENT yesterday rejected claims that the president was “obsessed” with opening an embassy in Havana, arguing instead that Cuba has supported Cyprus since the first day of its inception.
The Cyprus Republic opened six new embassies in 2009 with ambassadors sent to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Brazil, Bulgaria and Ukraine, while a new embassy in Indonesia is scheduled to open by the end of the year. Plans are also underway to open embassies in Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Oman and Saudi Arabia, depending on the availability of state funds.
However, it is the embassy in Cuba which has caused the most fuss, with a number of commentators suggesting that the decision was taken because President Demetris Christofias was “obsessed” with the idea of opening an embassy in the communist country. Critics accused the president of jeopardising efforts to secure an official invite to Washington DC by cementing diplomatic ties with Havana, which has suffered under a US embargo for near five decades.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou responded to critics yesterday, saying: “It is the Republic’s right to open embassies where it sees fit and this does not constitute a hostile act towards anybody.”
He added that the opening of the new embassy “serves the interests of the Cyprus Republic. Furthermore, we are opening an embassy in a country that has over the years consistently supported the Cyprus Republic since the first day of our country’s establishment.”
Stefanou highlighted that Cyprus was not alone in opening an embassy in Cuba: “The fact that only five member states of the EU don’t have diplomatic representations in Cuba speaks for itself.”
The spokesman noted that the government has a programme to strengthen its presence abroad with diplomatic missions around the world in the coming years. “I don’t know why some people keep returning to this issue,” he said.
Former Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Markoulli agreed that Cyprus owed Cuba that much after decades of support in the UN and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Markoulli, who served under the previous government, listed the reasons a government might decide to open an embassy: “The main criteria for choosing where to open embassies are not fixed. First, it is to maintain or improve relations with a certain country. Second, the issue of reciprocity is very important. Cuba has had an embassy in Nicosia since the 1960s, since our independence almost.”
In the case of Cuba, the reasons are a mixture of both, said the former minister, adding that Cyprus had a debt to pay after decades of “excellent relations” with Cuba. “All along, Cuba has been a very strong supporter of Cyprus even before independence, and as a founding member of NAM, along with Cyprus, India, Algeria and others.”
Markoulli referred to her time served at the UN when she witnessed Cuba’s influence on the passing of UN resolutions related to Cyprus.
“Cuba was a member of the NAM Contact Group on Cyprus and supported Cyprus in all UN-adopted resolutions on Cyprus. I was at the UN in 1983and can say that behind every strong resolution was Cuba.”
Apart from the fact that the time has come for Cyprus to “pay its dues” to Cuba, the country also plays a very important role in Latin America, argued Markoulli, which is why most Western states, including Japan, Canada and Turkey, have embassies in Havana.
“While I was minister I requested that we open more embassies, including in Brazil. We were covering the whole of Latin America from Mexico which is unforgivable. I hope we open more, in Argentina too,” she said.
The former minister rejected claims that relations with the US would sour as a result, noting that the new administration was keen on normalising relations with Cuba. Asked whether the decision to open a Havana embassy could have been based on ideological grounds, Markoulli responded emphatically: “No way. All governments from Makarios to Spyros Kyprianou, Georgios Vassiliou, Glafcos Clerides owed Cuba much for its support throughout the years. The country has been a staunch supporter of Cyprus, along with NAM countries like India and Algeria.”
