The President of the Republic and the President of the Russian Federation Give Joint Press Conference (excerpt)(Source: ¨President of Cyprus; issued Feb 25, 2015)
The President of the Republic, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, and the President of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin, gave today, in Moscow, a joint press conference.
After the opening statements the two Presidents responded to questions posed by journalists.
In response to a question on the importance of the defense and energy agreements signed, in view of the sensitivity and prospects of the Eastern Mediterranean region, President Putin said: “As I said earlier, the friendly relations between our countries are not aimed against anyone; our goal is to implement our national objectives for the good of our people, and our cooperation does not harm anyone.
Today, you witnessed the signing of many documents concerning defense cooperation. For example, this pertains to our military ships’ entry into Cyprus ports. These are primarily Russian ships participating in international efforts to fight terrorism, international piracy, etc.First, I do not think that this could be a source of concern for anyone. Second, this is our joint work, and in this respect, we can also discuss the contribution by Cyprus to these joint efforts, and I’m confident they will bring results in those highly important, pressing areas of fighting the threats we face today, including in this region of the world. (Emphasis added—Ed.)
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Asked to offer his assessment on the EU sanctions against Russia and the countermeasures by the Russian side, President Anastasiades said that “from the beginning we were in favor of the diplomatic dialogue for the resolution of the crisis.” He added: “We believe that diplomacy must provide the answer and not military means. At the same time, it was and remains our position that, in spite of the fact that as a member state of the EU we are obliged to follow a common policy, we also have our own views, our voice before we reach the final conclusions.” (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full statement, on the Cyprus Presidency website. >>>
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