Lavrov assures relations with Turkey will not affect Russia-Cyprus dialogue

The development of Russian-Turkish cooperation will in no way affect the dialogue between Moscow and Nicosia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Cypriot newspaper Phileleftheros, Russian TASS reports.

"I would like to reassure our Cypriot friends that the deepening of Russian-Turkish cooperation and the need to interact with Ankara on regional issues in no way affect and will not affect our dialogue with Nicosia," he stressed.

According to Russia’s top diplomat, Moscow is concerned about regular crises in the Eastern Mediterranean. "We consider any actions that are fraught with a further increase in the potential for conflict to be unacceptable," he stressed. "We have repeatedly urged the leaderships of the countries in the region to show political foresight, resolve disputes exclusively by peaceful means and within the legal framework. It is better to resolve contradictions at the negotiating table rather than aggravate them with public rhetorical duels."

At the same time, Lavrov is certain that both Nicosia and Ankara have the political will "to prevent further destabilization of the situation in the region." "There is a universal platform for effectively resolving controversial issues - the United Nations," he noted. "We are ready to help build good-neighborliness between the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey, but, of course, only if both sides ask us to do so."