Cyprus denies allegations over Crimea barley imports

The Cyprus Foreign Ministry has dismissed press reports of allegations of an import of 4,603 tonnes of barley originating in Crimea on June 23.
The Ministry said that investigations conducted by the authorities "revealed that there was no import of cereals originating in Crimea into the Republic of Cyprus".
The announcement points out that the European Council at its meeting on March 20-21 unanimously condemned the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation and emphasised that it will not recognise it.
"In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, the Council of the European Union adopted, on 23 June 2014, Decision 2014/386/CFSP and Regulation No 692/2014 concerning restrictions on goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol and on the provision, directly or indirectly, of financing or financial assistance, as well as insurance and reinsurance, related to the import of such goods. The aforementioned legal acts form part of the European Law and are binding in their entirety and directly binding in all EU Member States", the Foreign Ministry said.
It added that the authorities "are duly informed about the adoption of the above-mentioned binding EU legal acts and are taking all necessary action for their effective and immediate implementation".