Anastasiades: Sanctions do more harm to Europe than to Russia!

EU sanctions against Russia should be targeted, says Cyprus President

May 12, 2022

European Union sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine should be targeted and take into consideration the repercussions of such a move on each and every member’s economy.

This is what Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said in Nicosia on Wednesday after talks with visiting Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

“We know that sanctions inevitably have a cost on our own economies…nonetheless, this cost should not be higher on the economies of the Member States than on the Russian economy,” the President also said.

“This is why sanctions need to be targeted with a specific impact on the sectors they aim to affect,” he added.

Anastasiades also said another issue that needs to be taken into consideration is that in order for sanctions to have maximum impact, EU-affiliated third countries must also align their foreign and security policy with those of the bloc.

Last week, Cyprus, Greece and Malta objected to EU plans for a ban on purchases and prohibit the shipping industry based in EU member countries from handling Russian oil.

The three countries have the largest shipping fleets in the 27 member EU, and host large ship-management centres.

“It’s necessary to take into account concerns of Greece, Malta and of course Cyprus in specific matters relating to the sanctions,” Anastasiades had said.

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