The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus believe that the European Union cannot apply double standards in its sanctions policy towards Belarus and Turkey, the official Kyriakos Koushos noted.

According to the Cypriot press and information department, Koushos, answering the question of whether the official Nicosia will insist that the anti-Belarusian EU sanctions be linked to the anti-Turkish ones, said that the policy of Cyprus towards Belarus has always been unchanged. 

The President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides have said that they support the sanctions, but the EU should not approach this issue with double criteria and double standards.

According to Koushos, Nicosia's position is that in conditions when Turkey continues to carry out drilling operations on the Cyprus shelf and threatens to open up for tourism and business in violation of the current UN resolutions, Brussels needs to follow the decisions of the Berlin EU summit to speed up the preparation of the issue of sanctions on Ankara.