Off the wire
• 2nd LD: Explosions hit motor park in central north Nigerian city of Jos : witnesses  • Sudan's Bashir says to quit power if not re-elected president  • Federer, Djokovic in semi-finals, Murray out at Dubai open  • 1st LD: Bombs hit motor park in central north Nigerian city of Jos: witnesses  • Latvia might join OECD in spring 2016: Foreign Ministry  • Urgent: Explosion hits motor park in central north Nigerian city of Jos : witness  • Kenya to hold wildlife festival to raise awareness of protection  • Croatia to introduce reforms to prevent macroeconomic imbalances  • Hotels in Riga see number of tourists grow 15.6 pct in 2014  • Obama's pick for attorney general heads for full-floor confirmation vote in Senate  
You are here: 　 Home

Roundup: Cyprus dismisses reports about Russian military facilities for loan

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cyprus dismissed on Thursday international press reports that it has offered Russia a naval base in exchange for the restructuring of a 2.5-billion-euro (about 2.8 billion U.S. dollars) loan.

"These reports are utterly unfounded and are not based on fact," government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides told state television from Moscow.

He said Russia and Cyprus updated and upgraded an existing defense cooperation agreement which already contained a provision for the docking of Russian warships in Cypriot ports on certain occasions.

"These provisions have been extended to facilitate the docking at Limassol port of Russian warships participating in operations against terrorism, piracy and smuggling," Christodoulides added.

The renewal of the defense cooperation agreement was announced on Wednesday at a joint press conference by Russian President Vladimir Putin with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, currently on a state visit to Russia.

Christodoulides said the defense agreement was entirely unconnected to the restructuring of the Russian loan given to Cyprus in mid-2012, months before Cyprus was bailed out by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund.

The Russian Duma approved on Tuesday the restructuring of the 2.5-billion-euro loan extending its maturity from 2018 to 2022 and its grace period from 2016 to 2018.

It also lowered the interest rate of the loan from 4.5 percent to 2.5 percent.

Britain has made it known that it is not pleased with the presence of Russian warships at Limassol port which is separated by only a wire fence from an air base it maintains on Cyprus.

The Akrotiri air base, just a few kilometers from the city, provides air and electronic surveillance support to NATO operations in the region.

But Christodoulides said that "the Republic of Cyprus, as a sovereign state, makes its own decisions which aim at serving its strategic interests."

He said Russia did not request facilities landing of military aircraft but added that Cyprus will respond favorably to any Russian request for air facilities in case of a humanitarian crisis.

In remarks during his Moscow visit, President Anastasiades hardly concealed his displeasure with European Union partners, including Britain, for not reacting to an alleged "incursion" by Turkish warships in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone where natural gas exploration is being conducted.

"They were quick to impose sanctions against Russia even in the absence of any military action (in Ukraine) but they are watching impassively as Turkish warships violate Cyprus's exclusive economic zone," Anastasiades told journalists.

Turkey objects to natural gas exploration by Cyprus, citing the rights of Turkish Cypriots to the natural resources of the eastern Mediterranean island.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish military intervened and controlled the north of the island after a coup by a group of Greek officers. Endit