Brussels, 31/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - Cyprus' move towards membership of the European Union and the prospect of Cypriot investment in Russia were the focus of the discussions that the Foreign Minister of Cyprus, Yiannakis Cassoulidès, and his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, held on Wednesday in Moscow.
Many Russian companies have invested large sums of money in Nicosia, and it is largely from these funds that much Cypriot investment in Russia is made. Cyprus is the third largest investor in Russia, after the United States and Germany, with almost $5 billion invested since the early nineties. Cyprus's accession to the EU and the introduction of Community regulation could affect these operations. It was for this that, after the talks, Mr Cassoulidès reminded the press that his country's legislation is a "strong barrier against the laundering on its territory of ill-gotten gains". He affirmed that his country's membership to the EU would be to the advantageous of Russian-Cypriot relations as Nicosia could play a role of mediator between Moscow and the Union in order to strengthen their relations.
Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash restated in Istanbul on Wednesday that he is opposed to Cyprus' application to join the European Union, arguing that it does not take into account Turkish Cypriot interests. "The EU is not an institution that can force its conditions upon us", said Mr Denktash, adding that the hope of the Europeans is to see the Turkish part reach a compromise with the Greek Cypriots. "It is understood that if we compromise, the EU won't cause difficulty", he specified, before going on to conclude: "We cannot accept this path (to EU accession) if our status is not recognised, and we explained this during our meetings, and listened to their thoughts". (See also EUROPE of 29 August, p.4).