The government of Cyprus denied reports on Thursday in the Greek and Cypriot press over leaked embassy cables published on WikiLeaks concerning the relationship of President of the Republic Demetris Christofias with his Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou.
The cables released by WikiLeaks allege that President Christofias does not trust his Foreign Minister, creating an internal obstacle to progress on the Cyprus talks. The specific cables provided by WikiLeaks and published by Athens newspaper Kathimerini, relate to a meeting between the International Secretary for PASOK and informal advisor to George Papandreou, Paulina Lampsa, and the US ambassador to Athens, Daniel Speckhard, on December 3, 2009.
“I categorically deny everything that included in the press reports that refer to the Wikileaks documents concerning the President of the Republic’s relations with Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou. They are a figment of imagination”, Stephanos Stephanou told reporters.
Stephanou added that President Christofias has never had a meeting or conversation with Lampsa, who reportedly made the remarks. He added that what “is important is that the issue is not an issue, it is a figment of imagination”. On his part, Foreign Minister Kyprianou said the WikiLeaks cables are opinions which are not worth commenting on.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with China’s Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying, Kyprianou said “it is not worth a comment and if they are true, they are views expressed by a specific person and comments have already been made by the Government Spokesman. I do no think they warrant any gravity and they are not worth commenting on”.
Source: Kathimerini