Disy and Akel clash over Israeli president’s visit to Cyprus

Disy accused Akel of allowing ‘ideological entanglements’ to shape Cyprus foreign policy on Friday, after the party backed a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Nicosia.

The exchange followed Herzog’s meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday, which was accompanied by a demonstration outside the presidential palace supported by Akel.

In a statement, Disy said Cyprus maintains a “strategic partnership” with Israel across “energy, defence and security”, and argued that Akel’s backing for the protest reflected a pattern in the party’s public comments on relations with Israel.

“Unfortunately, Akel continues to approach critical foreign policy issues through the prism of ideological entanglements and not with the strategic interests of Cyprus in mind,” the party said.

Disy said it opposed any approach that risked altering the country’s “Western and European orientation” or calling into question the partnership built with Israel, remarking that Cyprus needed to remain “a reliable interlocutor with everyone”.

“Cyprus’ foreign policy must be determined by the country’s interests, geopolitical reality and the need to strengthen its European and regional role, and not by ideological constraints,” the party said.

Akel secretary-general Stefanos Stefanou rejected such criticism, arguing that “support for international law was not an ideological position”.

He accused Disy of rushing to defend the government’s actions while avoiding condemnation of what it called Israel’s “genocidal policy”.

Akel asked whether Disy considered “opposition to the colonisation of the West Bank to amount to ideological entanglement”, or whether being a reliable interlocutor meant “silence in the face of the crimes that are occurring”.

The party said credibility required “consistency in principles, especially when this is the nations’ main shield against the Turkish occupation”.

Herzog’s talks with Christodoulides on Thursday covered Cyprus’ defence procurement programme, including the potential acquisition of Merkava tanks, building on existing purchases of Barak MX air defence systems and radar platforms from Israel.