Decision prompts rare moment of political unity

By Jean Christou
The suspension of the talks produced a rare moment of unity between the government and the entire political spectrum yesterday but a few parties couldn’t resist a dig at why Cyprus’ ‘turn to the West’ had been met with a deafening silence in the face of Turkey’s actions in the island’s EEZ.
Even Citizens Alliance leader Giorgos Lillikas, President Nicos Anastasiades’ most ardent critic after DIKO’s Nicolas Papadopoulos briefly said that “at this critical moment” it was necessary to remain united against Turkey’s actions. The party said Lillikas, respecting the decision made at the palace meeting that the government spokesman would speak for all of them, said he would not be commenting on the content of the meeting.
The remainder of the parties were not as succinct, though all of the opposition parties were likely happy an excuse had arisen to pull out of the negotiations.
Papadopoulos said it was clear Turkey was seeking to expand its occupation to the south of the island.
“If we lose this game, we lose the potential use of natural gas. If we lose the sea south of Cyprus, we will lose our EEZ,” he said. “And it is precisely for this reason that we must act decisively. Otherwise, we will lose our credibility as a state. No company is going to be interested in the future in utilising our gas fields.”
AKEL chief Andros Kyprianou, though he also welcomed the unity shown, criticised the government’s view that Cyprus was part of the West in terms of allies. Cyprus has been pursuing a Western foreign policy under Anastasiades’ government, forming stronger ties with the US and the UK, and supporting air strikes against the Islamic State, while at the same time losing some ground with traditional ally Russia over the deposits haircut debacle, and more recently being part of EU sanctions against Moscow.
Kyprianou urged Anastasiades “not to abandon traditional friends and allies” such as Russia and not to “put all our eggs in the basket of the United States”, which he said had proved to be completely counterproductive.
“Three years ago when Turkey tried to do something similar, there was strong opposition, first and foremost from the Russian Federation, and then from the US, the UN, and the EU,” he said.
Green Party spokeswoman Eleni Chrysostomou took a similar line saying what had happened had confirmed “in the most painful way” the results of the upgrading of ties with the US “which was and still remains a dangerous utopia”.
“We risk being left alone… faced with Turkish provocations and our new friends and the friends of our enemy watch idly,” she said.
EDEK leader and House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou also called for a more balanced foreign policy, also suggesting Cyprus’ West-looking policies had alienated Russia. He said he had already moved to inform the European Parliament, as well as international and regional parliamentary organisations within the bloc.
Omirou had also met yesterday with Britain’s Shadow Minister for European Affairs Gareth Thomas with whom he raised the issue, and whom he said had “shown an interest in the situation in the region”.