Cyprus blocks EU statement as too hard on Russia

Some EU countries, including Cyprus blocked a statement on the collapse of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty because it was too tough on Russia, reports said.

The report was included in a larger piece in Politico, which delved into the disarray in EU foreign policy, highlighted by the Venezuela issue.

Italy on Monday blocked a joint EU position to recognise Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guai-do as interim president with the government in Rome deeply divided over the issue.

Alessandro Di Battista, a prominent figure in the 5-Star Movement said, according to Reuters: “Handing out ultimatums, sanctions, freezing Venezuelan goods… It would mean opening the road to a military intervention.

“The 5-Star Movement and this government will never recognise people who appoint themselves president.”

On the same day, Politico said, a statement on the collapse of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty was blocked by non-NATO member EU countries including Cyprus because it was apparently too tough on Russia.

This stance was not a surprise, considering that Cyprus has been accused in the past of being a “Kremlin collaborator.”

Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said: “There was a common position adopted in a silence procedure, which was not accepted by one member-state. Not Cyprus. Then there was a new plan, which was rejected by Sweden, Austria, Ireland, Greece, and Cyprus, while other member-states believed it to also be unsatisfactory.”

In this case however, observers pointed out that it could have been a gesture in exchange for Russia’s support at the UN Security Council for the extension of Unficyp’s mandate for another six months.

The disharmony in the EU’s decision-making processes have prompted some to call for the unanimity rule to be binned.

“I have been a sceptic, but after the disarray of the last few days on a series of issues I think we must seriously consider abandoning the unanimity rule when deciding EU foreign policy on certain issues,” said Carl bildt, Co-Chair European Council on Foreign Relations.

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.