Any effort to impose artificial terms or mediation to the Cyprus problem would not be productive to the efforts aiming at its settlement, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov said, in statements after talks he had in Nicosia with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides.
Speaking through an interpreter, Lavrov expressed Moscow`s appreciation for the position which Nicosia maintained after the Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber aircraft, and noted that efforts are being made to undermine the settlement of the Syrian issue.
During their meeting, Kasoulides and Lavrov discussed the Cyprus issue, the strengthening of commercial relations between Cyprus and Russia, the crisis in Syria and the issue of Ukraine.
In his statements, Kasoulides said that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades briefed Lavrov on the ongoing negotiations on the Cyprus problem, “also expressing our appreciation for the unremitting principled position of the Russian Federation. We particularly highlighted that the United Nations Security Council has a crucial role, not only in endorsing a possible solution but in taking those necessary decisions for its comprehensive implementation,” he added.
Moreover, Kasoulides reiterated Cyprus` great concern “for the unjustified downing of the Russian bomber by the Turkish airforce at a time when there is an increasing political convergence regarding Syria.”
He noted that Cyprus is ready to offer any humanitarian aid to Russia e.g to evacuate Russian citizens from the Middle East, if this is required.
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CNA/AAR/MK/GV/2015
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY