NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus is making an “extremely important” contribution in increasing sanctions pressure on Moscow, said Ukraine’s ambassador to the east Mediterranean island, which was long in the spotlight for close business ties with Russia.
Cyprus all but severed those ties when it followed its European Union partners in slapping sanctions on Moscow over the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Cyprus’s support and contribution to increasing sanctions pressure on Russia is extremely important,” ambassador Ruslan Nimchynskyi told Reuters.
“A key indicator in this matter is that Cyprus supports and implements international sanctions and restrictions against Russia imposed by the EU. It is also positive that Cyprus has never stood in the way of tougher sanctions or processing new sanctions packages,” he said.
Cyprus was once considered a primary source of foreign direct investment into Russia because of the sheer number of Russian companies based on the island, but sanctions have seen many firms re-domiciling. One of the latest was Russian banking group TCS Holding, which owns online Russian bank Tinkoff.
Last year the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists detailed how financial enablers in Cyprus tried to shield oligarchs’ assets from impending sanctions immediately after Russia’s invasion, while a small number of Cypriots have personally been sanctioned by the U.S. and Britain.
The Cypriot government says it has ‘zero tolerance’ for sanctions busting and is receiving technical assistance from the United States to close any potential loopholes.
“We are sure the efforts of the Cypriot government and the support of international partners will strengthen the effectiveness of sanctions,” Nimchynskyi said.
Cyprus has hosted over 20,000 displaced Ukrainians, and has also offered demining training to members of the Ukrainian military.
(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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