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Let's make something clear:
Cyprus is *not* vetoing Belarus sanctions. It is exposing & protesting the non-implementation of a political agreement on Turkey *agreed* by EU MFAs in Berlin.
There is *no* Russian angle here (even if few try to force one). This is all about Turkey.
Cyprus is *not* vetoing Belarus sanctions. It is exposing & protesting the non-implementation of a political agreement on Turkey *agreed* by EU MFAs in Berlin.
There is *no* Russian angle here (even if few try to force one). This is all about Turkey.
This is *not* about Cyprus hijacking EU foreign policy. If anything, it is a very successful blackmail attempt by Erdogan, who managed to turn specific EU MS that share strong business interests with Turkey against other EU MS that Turkey threatens daily. https://twitter.com/Billbrowder/status/1308132457540202496
This is *not* about "Russian dirty money" in Cyprus. Russian influence over the Cypriot banking system is well cartographed, and has nothing to do with the current EastMed situation. This is all about Turkey's continuous sovereign violations vs Cyprus. https://twitter.com/tonylgardner/status/1308160577550856192
Cyprus has made it *absolutely clear* that it is unequivocally *in favor* of Belarus sanctions. In fact, Cyprus was one of few EU countries that went one step further, supporting the implementation of *sectoral* sanctions, as revealed by the Cypriot MFA. https://twitter.com/CyprusMFA/status/1308129038431588352
Turning Cyprus from victim to perpetrator is not only egregiously unfair and an injustice to its history of violations by Turkey, it also plays right into Erdogan's game and helps him (once again) avoid sanctions. Perhaps this is what certain EU MS want? https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/1308062767748915202
EU countries have blocked, vetoed or delayed crucial decisions for much more trivial reasons, with little backlash. Turning Cyprus into a scapegoat when all it is doing is asking for an agreement on a tougher stance on Turkey to be respected is wrong. https://twitter.com/th_alys/status/1308312520592154624
The only "hostage" in this terrible impasse is the common European ideal, which has fallen prey to Erdogan's effective blackmail.
Key lies not in Cyprus, but in Germany (+few other EU MS) reneging on a political agreement re: hard stance on Turkey. https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1307539656754462720
Key lies not in Cyprus, but in Germany (+few other EU MS) reneging on a political agreement re: hard stance on Turkey. https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1307539656754462720
The outrageous double-standards and myopia that characterize the Berlin-led EU foreign policy strategy in dealing with the concurrent crises in Belarus and EastMed expose an alarming, self-inflicted, and threatening internal inconsistency within the Union. https://twitter.com/GreekAnalyst/status/1308071671325224962
What many north Europeans do not seem to grasp (although they should, given, you know, Russia), is that Cyprus and Greece do not have the luxury of friendly neighbors like Sweden or Denmark. They are bound by geography next to an aggressor state — Turkey. https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/1308122135664222208
Greece and Cyprus are forced to deal with Turkey's threats, violations, and sovereign infringements on a *daily* basis. We're talking about a country that *invaded* Cyprus < 50y ago and is now successfully launching offensives (Syria/Libya) w the international community on mute.
What can a small nation like Cyprus do when threatened by a neighbor whose leader openly proclaims his intended new "Lebensraum" in the region? How do you expect it to react when its EU peers rush to shield Ankara from sanctions rather than defend Nicosia? https://twitter.com/GreekAnalyst/status/1301832782679879689
At the end of the day, it all boils down to a question at the crux of the democratic foundations and the "raison d'être" of the EU: is the EU willing to act united and forcefully when the sovereign rights of its MS are under threat? So far, the answer seems to be an emphatic no.
EU's strategy of ambivalence, zero-consequences, and, often, even straightforward kowtowing towards Erdogan's Turkey, despite its continuous encroachment vs EU MS, acts as an open invitation towards the authoritarians of the world to try their luck too. https://twitter.com/GreekAnalyst/status/1308064870949179393
