The Cyprus Mail said that the next government coming into power in February will have a difficult time because Cyprus has been influenced by Russian oligarchs and has not agreed to European Union sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. The paper says that Cypriot governments have been too obedient to Russia for too long, and that Cyprus is home to a large number of Russian ex-patriates.
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| A flag of Cyprus and a Russian one, montage |
The editorial in the paper said that it was very upsetting that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reprimanded the Cypriot government like a schoolteacher would reprimand a student. There was no response from the Cypriot government.
The minister was asked what he would say to people who believe that Russia is acting like other imperialist countries that break international law and try to take over territory and change borders, like Greece and Cyprus, local media report.
The person in the photo doesn't look like the people in Greece or Cyprus. The people in Greece and Cyprus are very close friends, and it was natural for us to identify them and register them.
Russia believes that the West is unfairly concentrating military forces from its "satellites" and NATO countries in order to start a world war against them. Cyprus's government hasn't done enough to oppose this stance, according to Russia.
Russia is a country that specializes in post-truth politics. This means that they believe that the country that is attacking Ukraine is actually the victim, and that there is a US conspiracy involved. Mr. Lavrov is very upset that some countries that are under Moscow's influence don't believe this version of events.
The plane's takeoff was seen as a shot at Cyprus and Greece for cooperating with EU sanctions against Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. These countries were also barred from allowing Russian airlines to serve them as a way to punish them.
Lavrov felt that he was owed an apology from Cyprus' political leaders after they had shown loyalty to Moscow over the years. President Nicos Anastasiades was the only EU leader to go to a Moscow parade after Russia annexed Crimea.
The paper said that the former ambassador of Russia was always meddling in domestic affairs and issuing directives. However, the current ambassador did not seem to care.
The editorial says that the President's response to the Russian Minister was timid, and that the Greek Prime Minister, Anastasiades, appeared to be grateful that Russia only half-heartedly opposes Turkey's occupation of the northern third of the island.