CYPRUS: Anastasiades has ‘substantial talks’ in Moscow

 * Economic cooperation high on the agenda *

The presidents of Russia and Cyprus had “substantial discussions” in Moscow, where bilateral relations and regional issues were on the agenda, as well as economic cooperation.

President Nicos Anastasiades, in the Russian capital for two days, accompanied by his Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Transport, said he had a “constructive dialogue” with his host, Vladimir Putin, a far cry from the icy meeting they had at the start of the current administration when the government unsuccessfully sought financial aid from Russia.

Putin said Cyprus is an important partner of Russia and expressed his appreciation for President Anastasiades’ willingness to deepen their bilateral relations.

He referred to the economic cooperation between the two countries and the close ties and cooperation between Russia and Cyprus.

Putin said that the two states have signed more than 40 intergovernmental and inter-ministerial agreements, and on Tuesday a number of new agreements were added, such as the joint action programme for 2018 – 2020 which covers a broad range of cooperation.

Recognising that in the first eight months of this year bilateral trade was up by 36%, Putin said they also discussed cooperation in innovation, energy performance, medicine, pharmaceuticals, aviation, shipbuilding and military technology.

He added that large Russian banks such as VTB, Gazprombank and Promsvyazbank have branches in Cyprus carrying out a full range of financial investment transactions.

On culture, Putin said that great importance has always been placed on learning the Russian language and hoped that more attention would be given to the interests of students in Cyprus.

As for tourism, he said that Cyprus is one of the favourite destinations for Russian holidaymakers, noting that in 2016 more than 800,000 Russians visited Cyprus, while their number in the first nine months of this year has already exceeded 700,000.

Noting that Cyprus is close to the Middle East, Putin said that he briefed the Cypriot President on Russia’s efforts to combat terrorism in Syria and on the need to restore the Christian presence in the region and restore the communities and the normal dialogue between them.

In addition, he said he briefed President Anastasiades on the implementation of the Minsk agreement for a peaceful solution of the crisis in southeastern Ukraine.

President Anastasiades said, “we had a sincere and creative exchange of views on a range of issues that covered, inter alia, the Cyprus problem, our bilateral relations and ways to further strengthen them, the EU-Russia relations, and international and regional issues with emphasis on the situation in Ukraine, which also has to do with the relations between Europe and the Russian Federation, but also Syria and the escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula.”

With regard to bilateral relations, the President noted that seven new agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed that not only demonstrate the wide range of cooperation between the two countries, but also contribute significantly to the deepening of bilateral political and economic relations.

To date, the agreements between Russia and Cyprus total 67, of which 19 were signed in the last five years, according to the President.

Joint Action Programme

The two leaders signed a two year Joint Action Programme, while ministers signed agreements on commercial shipping, international road transport, maritime transport, communications and information technology, as well as cooperation in the field of modernisation of the economies.

Earlier, President Anastasiades announced that plans were underway to build a cancer treatment hospital in Paphos, in cooperation with the Russian government and other partners in Paphos.

He said the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) and his government have shown great interest in speeding up procedures for a license and to overcome red tape issues.

Replying to questions during a press conference at the state news agency TASS, Anastasiades also referred to the Cyprus problem, noting that relations between Russia and Turkey were not an obstacle, but an opportunity for the right messages to be sent to Ankara.

Speaking in numbers, President Anastasiades said this year 840,000 Russian tourists visited Cyprus, and that the Russian community living and working in Cyprus exceeded 35,000.

On Monday night, Anastasiades said, “we will continue to encourage and support the close ties between Russia and Cyprus, allowing them to become even stronger.”

“We shall strive to promote new measures to ensure that the attractiveness of the investment environment is constantly upgraded. Our goal is to offer Russian companies seeking growth in international markets, a reliable and competitive partner,” he told a Cyprus-Russia business dinner organised by CIPA.

“We have embarked on a number of specific initiatives in these sectors, such as a growing collaboration between (the research park) Skolkovo and stakeholders from Cyprus involved in research and innovation,” he noted.

CIPA issued a statement saying “there was keen interest in Cyprus’ investment opportunities among the more than 80 distinguished Russian businessmen who attended the official dinner” on Monday.