Christofias receives one of Russia’s highest awards

RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday announced his decision to grant the ‘Friendship Medal’ to President Demetris Christofias.

Christofias was awarded the medal “for his great personal contribution to the development of the multifaceted relations between Russia and Cyprus” a Kremlin official press release said.

The ‘Friendship Medal’ is one of the most prestigious decorations awarded in Russia to international personalities.

The Russian President is due to visit Cyprus for the first time ever at the beginning of October to commemorate 50 years since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the initiation of diplomatic relations between USSR – Russia and Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.