Leftist party Akel on Thursday lambasted Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos for “sucking up” to US President Donald Trump and his policies, warning that this “subservient” stance poses risks to Cyprus.
“The foreign minister’s statements of admiration for Donald Trump are shameful and politically problematic,” the party said.
Akel was alluding to remarks made by Kombos in an interview with Breitbart News published earlier this week.
It added: “The Christodoulides government insists on the line of tethering our country – to the point of subservience – to the United States and the Trump administration, disregarding the consequences for Cyprus.”
Akel expressed dismay that, in his interview, Kombos “sung Trump’s praises, saying he [Trump] is in a unique position to reshape the world order.
“Moreover, he lauded Trump’s ‘decisive’ approach to international relations and welcomed him with open arms to visit Cyprus.”
Evidently, said the party, neither Kombos nor the government at large are perturbed by Trump’s “incendiary and unlawful actions on the international scene, or by his discrediting of Europe”.
It went on: “All of mankind sees how the Trump administration is openly undermining the United Nations, demolishing fundamental tenets of international law, invading and attacking sovereign states, how it is complicit in the genocide in Palestine, covets the territorial integrity of European states, initiates trade wars on European societies, while never missing an opportunity to praise [Turkish leader Tayyip] Erdogan.”
The party accused the Christodoulides government of double standards: “Its sensibilities for international law, expressed for the war in Ukraine, vanish when it comes to the United States and Israel.
“Sucking up to Trump neither does honour to our country or its dignity, nor will it bring about the results that they imagine.”
Speaking to Breitbart News, Kombos had said Trump is in a “unique position” to reshape the global order in a way no American president has managed in generations – and that Cyprus is ready to act as Washington’s bridge to the Middle East.
Cyprus’ chief diplomat stated the EU should abandon any adversarial posture towards the United States, and engage more actively with the Trump administration.
“The EU cannot and should not be seen as an adversary,” he said. “On the contrary, we see that there is great potential for making the relation grow in terms of trade.”
Cyprus, he argued, is uniquely placed to facilitate that engagement.
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