China and Russia Are Very Welcomed In Cyprus

Both Russia and China are very popular in Cyprus, which is reflected in the warm welcome Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi received during his two-day official visit and a new poll showing that three in four Greek Cypriots would like Cyprus to host a Russian military base.

Wang Yi began his visit on Sunday Dec. 20. He met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades Monday for an hour during which the two men discussed the Cyprus problem, bilateral relations, and cooperation between the two countries.

Anastasiades was in China in October where he said Cyprus’ participation in the Silk Road initiative would benefit relations by default as the policy itself implied the strengthening of China’s economic relations with participating countries.

Wang also met with House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou. Both men underscored that warm relations between the two countries extend back to the 1970s, when then-President Archbishop Makarios visited China. “We recall the visit of Cyprus’s first President, Archbishop Makarios, to China in the 1970s, and the meeting he had with then-leadership and Mao Zedong,” Omirou said.

“China always follows the diplomatic practice of equal treatment of large and small countries, and relations between China and Cyprus can become a model for the good relations between large and small countries,” Wang said. He added that China was interested in operating Greek Cypriot ports to help turn the island-nation into a regional shipping hub and help to develop industrial zones around the ports.

Meanwhile a new poll on Dec. 16-17 revealed that three out four Greek Cypriots would favor granting military facilities to Russia. While 42% said that Cyprus should have equally close relations with the U.S. and with Russia, the same poll showed that seven out of ten Cypriots were open to offering military facilities to Russian forces fighting against terrorism, and three out of five said they would feel safer if there were a Russian military presence on the island.

The British have two military bases on the island which are considered sovereign British territory, but they offer zero security, since they did nothing to stop Turkey from invading the island in 1973. Therefore it is not surprising that two out of five said they feel less safe since Britain’s Royal Air Force began bombing the Islamic State in Syria from its Cyprus base.