WAS IT a coincidence, three days after the end of the Mont Pelerin talks on a positive note, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation Stanislav Osadchiy appeared on state television to inform us about Moscow’s position the procedure? It would be interesting to know whether the ambassador had been invited or had asked to appear on the CyBC’s morning TV news show.
The fact of the matter is the ambassador is a regular guest on state television and frequently interviewed by the state news agency CNA. No other Nicosia-based ambassador is given so much air time or is interviewed as frequently by the press as Osadchiy, not even the ambassador of Greece with which Cyprus is supposed to have special ties; most Greek Cypriots do not even know his name.
Russia’s ambassador, in contrast, is the darling of the anti-settlement media and of the rejectionist political parties, because he regularly says things aimed at undermining the talks or making the pursuit of a deal more difficult. He successfully made the issue of guarantees, a potential deal-breaker, announcing after a meeting with Giorgos Lillikas that guarantees were unheard of in the modern age and adding that Russian would never accept Nato guaranteeing a settlement, as if it were any of his business.
Suddenly, the guarantees, which had never been an issue in the past – not even for a hard-liner like Tassos Papadopoulos – became a red line. To this we should add Osadchiy’s oft-repeated assertions that there should be no time-frames for the talks and interference from outside. He mentioned the same mantra again yesterday, presumably as encouragement to opposition parties.
When two sides are within sight of a deal, in any negotiation, they should be pushed in that direction, with time-frames and outside encouragement (it is not interference) so that the opportunity is not lost. A seasoned diplomat like Osadchiy knows this, so why is he still banging on about time-frames? He also, mischievously, said that he ‘personally’ believed there would be an agreement in 2017, thus implying there was no need to seize the opportunity now.
As if this were not bad enough, Osadchiy yesterday also demanded that Russia was allowed to engage in outside interference. He said Moscow wanted “a multi-party and not five-party conference,” to finalise a Cyprus agreement so it could also contribute. How would it contribute, considering that Moscow has not once done anything that could be construed as practically helpful to the Cyprus peace efforts? Its main role has always been to support the Greek Cypriot parties opposed to a settlement.
And this is exactly what Russia’s ambassador is doing now. Instead of showing respect to the president of the country in which he is posted, he is openly undermining him, on state TV, by crudely suggesting that the way he is conducting the talks is wrong – he should not accept a time-frame or a five-party conference. Is this is not blatant, outside interference in the peace process as well as in Cyprus’ domestic affairs? Osadchiy needs to be reminded that he is here as an ambassador and not as an anti-settlement campaigner.
