NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus’ foreign minister has rejected Russian claims that the U.S. is looking to set up a military base on the east Mediterranean island as a bulwark against expanding Russian influence in the region. Nikos Christodoulides said Friday that he called his Russian counterpart to convey Cyprus’ “grave concern” over the remarks from Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “On the one hand, they don’t correspond with reality and on the other, they’re in breach of diplomatic decorum,” Christodoulides told private TV station Sigma. Christodoulides said Cyprus receives many foreign government requests to act as a potential waystation for evacuated citizens in case of a regional crisis. Christodoulides ruled out seeking NATO’s security blanket as part of any efforts to reunify ethnically divided Cyprus.

Source: National Post December 07, 2018 14:26 UTC