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Alexander Romanovich: the parliament of Cyprus calls for expansion of cooperation with Russia 07 июля 2016 On 7 July 2016 the Cyprus parliament supported the resolution containing a call for the executive authorities of the country to start work with the European Union structures aimed at at lifting the anti-Russian sanctions. The document was submitted by Party AKEL and supported by thirty-three parliamentarians. Alexander Romanovich, the State Duma Vice-Chairman, commented on the results of voting: The resolution submitted by the Cyprus deputies states that the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union due to the Ukrainian crisis have significantly aggravated the EU-Russia relations. Moreover, they turned out to be counterproductive to cease the war in Donbas. A negative impact of the sanctions is also felt in the trade and economic relations between Cyrus and Russia which is sure to create serious problems for the island state facing a crisis. I’d like to remind you tat two-thirds of the Cyprus banking system deposits are, this or that way, connected with the Russian structures; we have established close cooperation in a number of economic sectors. Taking into account the above-mentioned, it becomes clear that the Cyprus parliament representing the interests of the citizens of the country calls for expansion of cooperation with Russia and building a strong foundation for the development of bilateral relations. The resolution calls the executive power bodies to start work within the EU structures to be aimed at lifting the sanctions against Russia and repairing the relations of good neighborhood in all areas. The deputies also expect Russia to lift its counter measures which have hindered the export of Cyprus products to our market. The Resolution gained support not only from the ruling party but also from the opposition which represent an absolute majority of the Cypriot citizens in the parliament. Despite its advisory character, the authorities of the Republic must take the Resolution quite seriously because if they refuse to implement it, it will mean that they are not going to consider the opinion of their own people and are completely under the control of Brussels. Such a policy is sure to result in a growing number of Eurosceptics in Cyprus. All this will not add stability to the EU structures that are losing their reliability after Brexit. I’d like to note that this resolution is not the very first one calling for lifting the anti-Russian sanctions. The documents of this kind have been adopted in some other EU countries. Moreover, it is quite obvious that the parliamentarians’ mood reflect the position of the society regarding this issue.
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