“We will make as many concessions as are necessary for the reunification of our country, provided that these concessions do not harm, first of all, the security and stability of Cyprus”, emphasized, among others, the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulidis.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulidis, gave an interview to DW regarding the matter. “If something happens in the Aegean, it can also happen in Cyprus,” he says, among other things.
The German capital, Berlin which was once divided in two, is a city that the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulidis knows well from his travels in the past and which inevitably evokes memories from the past. “Germany was reunited, Berlin was reunited and became the free capital of a free country. Undoubtedly, the feelings for a Cypriot are completely different, more intense than the feelings of any other European. A European saw a divided Europe. We saw a divided Europe, but at the same time a divided country” says Ioannis Kasoulidis in the exclusive interview he gave to DW from Berlin.
2024 marks 50 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the summer of 1974, while recently the Cypriot state seems to have fallen into a state of stagnation. “We will make whatever concessions are necessary for the reunification of our country, provided that these concessions do not harm, first of all, the security and stability of Cyprus. And secondly, they do not violate individual human rights”, states the Cypriot Deputy Prime Minister Ex emphatically, noting that Cyprus naturally closely monitors both the political developments inside Turkey in the midst of a pre-election year and the Turkish threats against Greece.
Germany, Varosia and the Cypriot EEZ
“Of course, we are very worried because if something happens in the Aegean, it will also happen in Cyprus” notes Ioannis Kasoulidis, hoping, as he says, that all this is part of the Turkish pre-election rhetoric in the absence of proposals from the Turkish government to deal with Turkey’s real problems such as inflation.
However, what the Cypriot foreign minister says in his interview about Germany’s role as an intermediary interlocutor between Nicosia and Ankara also evokes feelings. “Germany is able to talk with Turkey on a friendly basis and on a give and take basis. So I think Germany has proven that. I will not go into details but in 2022 Turkey did not enter the Cypriot EEZ to exert pressure. Nor has he taken any new actions in Varosia, even though both sides (Turkish and Turkish Cypriots) have declared that they will do so. I think that all this was not done in 2022 is partly due to Germany.”
Cyprus can offer LNG and… helium to Europe
However, in the last year, Europe’s eyes have turned to Cyprus for an additional reason: the energy deposits off the island give rise to hopes for new energy routes that could give future life to an EU that is struggling to become independent from Russian energy. To a related question from DW about the realistic possibilities of exploiting possible “huge energy resources”, Ioannis Kasoulidis answers: “They are not huge, let’s not exaggerate. But even by today’s calculations it is 10 trillion cubic feet, a very significant amount. Even if a part of it reaches Europe (…) it will be relieved in meeting its current needs”.
The Cypriot minister refers in detail to the progress of the investigations of the ENI and TOTAL companies as well as the perspective that liquefied natural gas LNG opens up. But it also stands out for another energy source that exists in abundance on the Mediterranean island: the sun. “Cyprus has something that few in Europe have: the sun. If we now start to use it seriously, taking advantage of solar energy, then we can also contribute” he says, comparing with humor the ideal weather conditions in Cyprus to the hazy and rainy Berlin. Of course, as he says, for any energy prospects of Cyprus it is crucial that international buyers show a similar interest immediately, why not Germany.
The “Zeitenwende” of Cyprus
In the past, Cyprus has often been the target of international and European criticism for opaque relations with Moscow and Russian oligarchs, for the famous “golden passports” and shadowy offshore companies, the DW journalist recalls in the interview. “Yes, in the past”, emphasizes the Cypriot foreign minister, stressing that Cyprus has nothing to hide. But he doubts that in reality “there are people who violate the Russian sanctions in Cyprus”. As he says: “Let them come to Cyprus, let them tell us who they are. One person, two people. Let’s discuss with them, we are available to create a kind of permanent monitoring of the situation. We are an open book.”
Finally, regarding the war in Ukraine, Ioannis Kasoulidis states that Cyprus is also going through its own historical “Zeitenwende (change of era), using the German term that describes the change in Germany’s stance on foreign and security policy as a consequence of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
As he states, the war in Ukraine and the violent violation of its borders, its territorial integrity, “brings to Cyprus memories of the Turkish invasion and the occupation of a third of our country. We were obliged to change the era too” says Ioannis Kasoulidis. Finally, regarding the prospect of peace in Ukraine, the Cypriot minister believes that Ukraine itself should have the first and last say in determining its future. Until then the EU will “inevitably” have to support it by providing aid.
The interview was granted by the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulidis to DW News and Nina Haze.
Editor: Dimitra Kyranoudis
DW
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