All news

Russia’s top diplomat discusses Cyprus settlement with island’s president

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the existing system of guarantees in Cyprus as archaic

MOSCOW, December 23 /TASS/. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the current stage of the Cyprus settlement talks by telephone on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The president of Cyprus has shared his assessments on the current stage of the ongoing Cyprus settlement talks," the ministry said.

Lavrov described the existing system of guarantees in Cyprus as archaic. "We are convinced that a modern independent state does not need any external guarantors. UN Security Council guarantees would be most effective in the transitional period in my view," the Russian Foreign Ministry explained.

"The Russian side has reaffirmed its invariable support for negotiations between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus with the aim of reaching a comprehensive, viable and fair solution in the interests of both communities in Cyprus. We are going to back up any solution on which the Cypriots are going to agree on," the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.