According to International law, JCPOA Cannot Be Broken, Stresses Cyprus Ambassador

The ambassador of Cyprus to Iran stands among the very lawmakers who owns a comprehensive grasp over the developments of the Arab World and the Middle East. He believes that the JCPOA brings bright horizons in political and economic prospects with other neighboring lands of Iran and considering the international nature of the agreement, the future US President cannot violate or break it, although some of the countries around Iran fear what may arise therefrom.

AVA Diplomatic’s Exclusive Interview with

Dr. Andreas P. Kouzoupis, the Ambassador of Cyprus to Iran

Interview by Mohammadreza Nazari

I would much like to familiarize our readers with your professional background. Where were you born? What did you major in?

Well, born in Cyprus, in the coastland city of Limassol which is actually placed in opposite of Alexandria of Egypt. My studies have been in Law. I studied Law extensively in the United Kingdom.

Why did you choose the UK to continue your studies?

Cyprus used to be a colony of the British Empire until the end of 50s. So all of us we are really familiar with the English language. When I had to go for my higher education studies, still there were no universities in Cyprus, it has changed of course dramatically in the last 25 years because we have 5 universities recognized in Europe and the US. So the tendency at that time was to go, let’s say, to 3 or 4 destinations for studies; Greece of course because of the language, England and the US, maybe a couple of others. But concerning studying Law, there is a special peculiarity. In Cyprus we follow the Anglo-Saxon legal system so it is much more important to go in the country where you follow the legal system. Because in Greece it is the continental legal system which is different in many regards.

Did the independence process of Cyprus from the UK affect your life and education in any way?

In what regards?

Let’s say you are a Cypriot, entering the UK, while in Cyprus there has been much effort made to part from the UK. There in the UK they are looking at you as a person who is seeking independency. I mean the existing view in the UK about someone who is studying there; the environment of the university, the social atmosphere.

Britain like any colonial power, let me just put it like this, has tried to put into practice the well-known maxim of divide and rule. All the colonial powers wherever they have been, majority of them not all of them, they left some leftovers in the countries where they have ruled, for political reasons. We should not forget that though we gained independency in 1960, which was a very important period of course in people’s asking for their independency, the 50s and 60s were very important politically, globally, with the de-colonization movements.

In 1960 when we gained out independency. There are until now two British sovereign bases on the island. These were parts of a trade off in gaining our independence, among other issues.

This is one aspect. This is a kind of a trade-off; I mean I give you independency if you accept two sovereign bases, if you accept this and that, etc.

This however has nothing to do with our studies, I mean going into Britain or UK. Because Cyprus does not have the natural resources that Iran has or other countries. So the Cypriot people, the Cypriot families, the parents, and the society have been investing instead of this on human resources. So we were going to the UK I mean where the universities were well known and fully traditional for the quality of education they are offering. This is the real motif behind it, I mean going to study there. In my case of course the additional fact is that we follow the English legal system. My father was a lawyer. He did not have the opportunity, because he was from a village, to have money, his family, to send him into one of these universities to study, but he wanted for his children something better; also being experienced that you know when you come back you will have to apply it in the English legal system.

What made your way into the diplomatic world? What happened in between?

What happened is that after finishing my first degree in London and my first master’s degree, the first master’s degree in London was in Public International Law. Now I was planning to go to do European Union Law in the Netherlands, but at the end, I ended up going to Nottingham again in the UK specializing even further in international law. And that was another master’s degree. As I was getting deeper there was an offer, a scholarship to continue on PhD. So you start, you are doing your PhD. Well I was getting into the academic career because there are studies where you can do a PhD and go to the private sector and elsewhere like engineering but when you are in Law and you reach let’s say PhD level then the direction you are taking most likely is the academic career. And I had a scholarship, actually at that time to go to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. They do some specialized programs, in the summer, on international law; it is the most prestigious program in the world. My father told me, a few months before that, there will be some vacancies for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I said to him you know I have this scholarship and doing the PhD, I mean, what is your view? You know to join the foreign services it is not only Public International Law, you need to take exams on history on International Public Relations, on economy, this and that which I was not familiar with. People usually spend two or three years preparing for these exams. And to move in that direction, of course, meant that I was losing the scholarship and creating complications for my PhD studies, so it was a big decision to be taken. Well my father said to me you have to decide. I cannot tell you what to do. And I took my chances. I applied. I said it is going to work fine if it doesn’t work anyway I am getting back to the academic direction, there is no problem.

In diplomacy when you speak about International Relations, what is it about. I mean it is about economy, it is about law, and it is about political relations. But International Law that I have studied, Public International Law, has a fundamental role to play in International Relations. I mean when specially a country like Cyprus which has been occupied because of the Turkish invasions since 1974, specially the weak countries, they use Public International Law as their own shield. Public International Law is exceptionally important because of our problem. But it is not only that. Even the big countries, let’s say without naming, countries that go against the International Law with their actions, they still have to know international Law to know how to manipulate it to promote their own ends.

Your father was a lawyer, how come he knew about the vacant positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Particularly as a lawyer, he was the subscriber of the Official Gazette of the newspaper of the government that is published on a weekly basis. So he had to go to Official Gazette for his own work for his legal practice, all the vacancies for the public sectors, they are always published in the Official Gazette.

So it means he had some general information?

Yes, he had access to public resources, but I would also say, without knowing that my father, of course, wished me to return back to take over his law firm, but at the same time he knew that I was going on the certain direction.

After I started the post graduate studies in Public International Law if I ever had any chance of coming back to Cyprus instead of staying and teaching in the academic fields in the UK, it would only include places where I could seek a profession in Cyprus who have been the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Because I was one of the most qualified people who joined the ministry at that time, it was the time when Cyprus started its accession process to the European Union. So they wanted people that were lawyers, highly qualified to take over certain files concerning the accession. This was the criterion they applied. The service always comes and decides according to who you are, what your qualifications are, what is the best for the service. So the priority of our policy in those years in 1999 were in the peak of our accession process to the European Union which was a crown of success in 2004.

So you were one the lawyers who helped Cyprus’ accession to the EU?

Yes, in some chapters I have contributed like other colleagues of mine either in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other Ministries.

Considering the border disagreements between Cyprus and Turkey, what potential challenges do you believe would have existed in the way of Cyprus’s accession to the EU?

There were various perceptions in those years back to 2003. We were a country that is having an occupied part that can join the European Union. However what was very clear to the mind of the European Union in this was what has been applied in 2004 is that Cyprus is a truly European country. Economic criteria that were examined were performing better than the majority of the EU countries. Political criteria, human rights, democracy or these things again who are performing par excellence.

So the issue was the occupation of the northern part of the island, which was not a problem that was caused by Cyprus. It was not the EU who raised this decision, but it was some political circles. It was not the organization itself that was giving this condition; some political circles say how you will accept the divided island. Despite the fact that Cyprus is qualified economically and politically and the entry of the island into the Union could be even the incentive in the solution of the sides.

What we want to stress is that when Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, the protocol of accession, i.e. simplistically the legal act of the accession of Cyprus to the EU, sees it very clearly that the whole island of Cyprus, the two parts, the free and the occupied part, have entered the EU. Because of the occupation of the northern part, the European legislation cannot be implemented. What I’m trying to say is that the whole island, as you see it, both northern (occupied part) and the southern parts, entered the EU. That wasn’t only the southern part or the occupied part, but all of the island entered the Union. So by this act, when the Cyprus problem is resolved, then the European legislation would be implemented to the northern part automatically, and we do not need to apply once again for the northern part. You can argue this is the German model. Germany, for many years until the Cold War, was the member of the EU, its western part primarily. But when the Iron Curtain fell, there was no need for an accession protocol for Eastern Germany, because it’s Germany.

Do you imagine Turkey would allow such thing for the left-out part to conjoin the rest of the island in the accession protocol?

This is a big question. We are also asking ourselves. We always argue and have been saying that the key to the problem of Cyprus is in Ankara. Why we say this is for very simple reasons. The occupied northern part of Cyprus is one of the most militarized places in the world counting all the population. There are 43 thousand Turkish troops financing the occupied regime, non-recognized by the world, but by Turkey. So the money, the army and all these things are what we understand very well meaning that it is totally dependent on Turkey. Exactly, the European Court of Human Rights has described the occupied part of the northern part of Cyprus as a subordinate, local authority province of Turkey. It will be important core issue where Turkey will have to decide where it wants to go, among these is the withdrawal of the military from the northern part of Cyprus. Cyprus is a member of the EU, and it cannot have foreign troops on its ground in a future solution. Turkey will have to decide about the future guarantee system of Cyprus. Because when it was invaded in 1974, it was in violation of the international law and the UN charter.

 How do you evaluate the NATO policies aimed at not pressuring Turkey in this matter?

Since we have been hearing a lot of words from the Turkish sides saying that they want to find a solution and other stuff, everyone is trying to show their good will. We know that we are the ones, the Greek Cypriots in particular, who is getting the detriment every day that passes by without a solution. I’ll explain why; because the illegal settlers from Turkey since 1974 will increase more and more if we do not find a solution. The majority of the population in the northern part of Island and their properties were Greek Cypriots. We are losing on a daily basis. What we are asking from Turkey is to stop only saying good words and show by acts and deeds that they are interested in assisting and finding a just, viable European solution to Cyprus that is a member of the EU.

Over the recent year, Turkey has adopted widely different approaches toward its neighbors, including the shutdown of the Russian craft which was carried out to affect the military developments in Syria. Some IR analysts are on the belief that Mr. Erdogan seeks to revitalize the Ottoman Empire. Do you think such thoughts can intensify the problem between Turkey and Cyprus? Can the two separated parts of Cyprus reconnect while such notions are still alive?

Indeed the current foreign policy of Turkey has been designed by the current PM of Turkey, Mr. Davutoglu when he was in the academia before joining politics. It is a policy with zero problems just as described in books, which has turned the past years into a policy of zero friends and neighbors. I cannot predict or just make a theoretical analysis whether this is going in a good or bad direction. Because I think you will agree with me that no one can predict what Turkey’s policies are concerning our region, esp. when we see the policy it took toward Syria or Iraq. The troops in Iraq or the IS, for example; we don’t know who is supporting and who is fighting the IS. We know who is fighting. But I mean everyone is saying ambivalent things that they are against the IS; is the same party supporting the IS; Turkey above all. We do not know which direction Turkey is going at the moment. We would have wished, of course, that these statements of the Turkish officials about solving the Cyprus problem become acts and deeds. Because we cannot depend on words or which direction they want to go the next day or whatever. We know we have negotiations, so please come and contribute positively.

Russia accuses Turkey of backing the IS. In what ways can Turkey benefit from this?

It is a good question, but I think it should be given to the Turkish ambassador, because it is about Turkey.

A while ago, a trilateral counterterrorism session was held between the heads of the Greek Cyprus, Egypt and Greek. What fruit did it have?

This is a summit between the three heads of the governments. What took place in Athens was the third one actually; President Anastasiades, President of Cyprus; President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt; and the Greek PM, Alexis Tsipras. Now, terrorism is only one part we covered in the summit as it is an important element, but there were other issues such as economy, tourism, terrorism, violence and discovering solutions for bilateral relations to put in a trilateral context. So the mechanism we achieved was trilateral, and why? I have to stress before answering about terrorism. With Egypt we have strong historical relations, both Cyprus and Greece; very strong historical relations. We had a great Greek population in Egypt. My father was born in Egypt, Alexandria. As I have been there myself, I can say Egypt is a country that you can have all civilizations living together, respectful of each other’s cultures and religions. We had Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt and Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus. They were the founders of the non-aligned movement. So geographical proximity, history, culture and a lot other have been between them for years.

So terrorism is one arc of it, or you can say the important one. There are other areas, but I only take one at the moment; energy, oil discovery and natural gas in the island. This is just one look. There was a decision to export gas to Egypt through a pipeline. What I am trying to say is that our areas of commonalities or synergies between the three countries are too many. But terrorism is what everyone should fight against, and I very well know that this is an important foreign policy of the I. R. Iran.

Egypt, as I said from the beginning, is the Um-al-Donya, the mother of the world. The Arab countries, those like Egypt in particular, do well if Egypt does well. If it does badly, then they will do worse. If the Tunisian revolution had started on its own, then it would not have given life to the Arab Spring. The one who caused the Arab Spring was Egypt and the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Now we see Egypt, despite all this turmoil in the region and terrorist activities – challenges are many; they have Libya on their left, Syria on their right, Israel (the occupying power) and many Islamist fundamentalists in the region causing problems – still has strength to stand on its own feet; and in particular to fight all terrorist threats in a systematic way inside and outside. We are very good, historical friends of Egypt and we stand next to it. It can be by words; it can be by capacities. We are also a bridge between the EU and Egypt. So we can influence as much as we can. Again I stress that if Egypt is successful against terrorism internally and externally, this can be to the benefit of the whole region.

How long did you serve in Egypt, Alexandria?

I have been posted there twice.

Please highlight the reasons why Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood failed. Considering your service in this country, in Cairo and Alexandria, two fairly different parts, how obvious was the social and political discontent that could take down Hosni Mubarak’s government?

I should refer you to the Head of the Egyptian Interests Section, but I will take this question and answer it.

When the popular Egyptian will was expressed on June 30, which is the second revolution. Because the first one was celebrated a couple of days ago, on January 25, the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Millions of people went on to the streets in Cairo and other cities to say that they cannot take it any longer. They were referring to President Morsi at that time. Mr. Morsi was running fast and light. He tried in less than a year since his election to change the fabric of the Egyptian people. He went against the decision of courts; he wanted to impose a constitution that was against the nature and fabric of the Egyptian people. And the Egyptian people who had revolted against Hosni Mubarak revolted against him.

Was it the people or the army of Egypt?

This is the point where we had a difference from other European countries. That moment things had changed. The army had not put a coup d’état into effect. You are asking about our analysis. There was not a coup. The army came in to ensure the political will of the people which was to send away President Morsi. It was not one or 50 thousand people; but it was millions and millions. So the army came in to protect the popular will of the Egyptian people. This was a difference in approach and analysis we had, not only inside Europe but also in around the globe. Others can say this and that, but this was and continues to be my government’s analysis.

I would much like to know what your primary mission was when you were first appointed ambassador to Iran

Just the same thing other ambassadors are doing here.

A number of ambassadors are preparing grounds and evaluating conditions in Iran for when the sanctions are gone.

I was not sleeping, either. I was doing the same thing and more. When you are here in Iran or, like me, come from the Sultanate of Oman where the most critical stage of the nuclear negotiations started; you already start evaluating bilateral developments; there will be an agreement, or there will be no agreement. Because truly without an agreement and negotiation, you will get limited results because of the international sanctions for doing a lot of things bilaterally. So it is before developing bilateral relations, whether you can correctly analyze if there will be an agreement and accordingly inform your capital. So that is what we are doing here on top of bilateral relations. We also tried to prepare grounds for bilateral relations. Actually bilateral relations never finish; they may go lower or higher, but they never stop or go away. And like some other countries, even before the finalization of the agreement, in order to show our positive approach to the negotiations, we appreciated the genuine negotiations taking place between the government of Iran and the EU/3+3. We did our visits here in Iran much more before the finalization of the agreement. Our deputy FM was here in October, 2014. Our FM was here in January, 2015. In February, 2015, also our Ministers of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism came here. A big business delegation was also here, the same time.

I was trying to make a joke back then at the Chamber of Commerce of Iran. I said to the chairman of the Chamber that we have the biggest business delegation until then. Because you sure have heard that rumors were everywhere that the French business delegation was the biggest, about a hundred members. But I said to the President of the Chamber that we have the biggest. If you compare our populations, we have one million people in Cyprus and our delegation was formed by 35 members, while France’s population is 80 million with a business delegation to Iran that consisted of 100 members. It was important for us to come here, like some of our partners from the EU and other areas to show our appreciation and support of the negotiations and the finalization of the agreement.

The Cyprus Fleet consists 3000 ships and taking into account the country’s geographical location, it has come to be called a naval intersection. Can the two countries cooperate in this area?

Thank you for asking that. Cyprus is indeed among the 10 biggest fleets in the world. I can tell you if you collect the ships that businessmen have registered in other flags, maybe we are even higher. But what makes the Cyprus flag unique, which is of a very high standard, is not only the flag. We are one of the biggest shipping management centers in the world, not just the flag. Management and operation takes place from Cyprus all over the world. Companies have their ships registered under our flag. There was cooperation in the past. NITC had its offices in Cyprus. And we are positive that there will be the same cooperation in a near future again; not only with NITC, maybe with Iranian shipping lines. Because I am confident that they see all these important characteristics that anyone would like to have to base themselves; it is geographical feature; it is a shipping management center all over the world on a highest level or the fact that this is one of the best taxation systems. And to have all these things, you have to have the whole cycle of the business work. You cannot go and establish an office and say today I became a shipping management center. You need to have all the linked professions working together.

I imagine you also spoke with the Chairman of Iran’s Shipping Company, Mr. Saeedi. He used to be a nuclear negotiator, too. It seems Cyprus can create a new sea corridor between Europe, Caucasia and Asia.

Everyone has to take advantage of their unique advantages they have; whether it is geography, resources or highly educated personnel.

Now that Cyprus plans to extend economic ties with Iran, what is the reason that the economic section of your embassy is located in Dubai?

The way you put it is kind of a complaint. Why it is there is the subject of the complaint of a lot of other countries. But if you take a look around, you won’t find any Cypriot commercial section in any other country, apart from the UAE. There is no discrimination, I just want to explain. The other thing is the financial resources; as simple as that. It is very basic. If you look around the globe where you find our offices, you won’t find many for financial resources. Because in 2012, I’m sure you know, we had a big financial pitfall in Cyprus, a big problem with the banking system. So austerity measures were brought in. The austerity measures affected all of us. So it is primarily financial issues. I mean it is our wish to have commercial offices all over the world and the biggest one in Tehran without any doubt. The fact that we do not have an office does not mean we are not doing our work. In this new era of globalization and having to cut down on your expenditures and so on, the private sector has to contribute also. We have the biggest business association in Cyprus from last summer that is called the Cyprus-Iran Business Association. This is the biggest one with any country in the whole world. It was established in August and the founding members are 140 companies. So these will be the engines of our trade relations. And hopefully soon, they will be coming themselves with the Minister to do their own business here. They have been in the past already, as I said. After the implementation Day of the agreement, we may not have been the first. But we are focused. We have done what is needed to give the right framework where the businessmen want to work. We have a protection, promotion, investments agreement. In last August when this association was created, it was the signing of the avoidance of double taxation agreement. We continued to develop our political relations in other fields. So it is the friendliest, most ready-made environment for businessmen to get together.

Cyprus is a touristic destination the attraction of which has drawn the attention of many Iranians. Are there any future plans to extend tourism in cooperation with Iran, esp. in the post-sanction period?

Because everyone is linking tourism to sanctions, just like the linkage you made now. I even hear it from Cypriot businessmen. I think the only difficulty over there is the banking transaction. It has nothing to do with the fact that you want to travel to a country or not. So Cyprus has a long tradition of tourism. It is actually one of the fields among others that we are working on to have cooperation between Iran and Cyprus. H. E. the vice president of the government, Mr. Soltanifar, Head of the tourism organization, has been invited to Cyprus and it is his wish to do so according to the general obligations and agenda in front of him. We have a long tradition. We do believe, and I think the government is very keen, as part of our bigger parcel of our relations to learn how we do it with tourism in Cyprus. So this is one of the priorities of the government of President Rouhani to develop tourism. Here in Iran, you are a country that can satisfy various sectors of tourism, whether it is culture, history, skiing, etc.

Maybe we do not have as many tourism products as you have, but still our long tradition of tourism can greatly benefit Iran. Let’s say, how you do marketing to bring tourists; to attract them. These are experiences we have for many years and there is an interest.

But now, back to tourism in Cyprus and Turkey. As we always say, we are not competing with Turkey in tourism. That is what I say to the travel agencies that cooperate with the embassy. At the moment, we stand to host some 9000 Iranian tourists visiting Cyprus on a yearly basis and that is through charter flights mainly on Nowrooz and the summer. We believe Cyprus, which attracts millions of people every year as tourists, is a friendly, secure partner whose culture is not much far away from the culture of Iran. We want the Iranian people to visit our country and come back here as ambassadors of Cyprus in Iran and talk about it in the best words. They can be Muslims or Christian.

What we will try in the near future, within a year, I cannot say more in details, because we have to get a proposal to give to the Iranian government. As far as I know, there will be an attempt to have scheduled flights between Tehran and Larnaca. When this comes as a proposal, we will give it to the Iranian authorities and we hope for their positive response. This is important for tourism not only to Cyprus, but also to Iran. It gives opportunities for both countries, because it is people at the end of the day who need to be taken on the ground. The ambassadors cannot do anything, neither can the ministers. It is the people who do the connectivity between the two countries. They come to see the country, the history, the culture, the civilization, etc. Not only will it help tourism, but it also help businessmen, student exchanges. The direct scheduled flight between Tehran and Larnaca is one of the most important aspects of the bilateral relations we want to develop.

Is it possible for visa issuance process to become easier?

It takes us two days at the very most, and we also have the capacity for urgent cases. Why we do this is because the first impression the Iranian people get about our country is formed when they come to the embassy and get their visa. We have tried and we are still doing our best to practice various methodologies where we can simplify the procedure as much as we can.

Do you anticipate the launch of this direct flight within the next 6 months?

I cannot preempt how fast the authorities of the two countries will move, because, of course, the license needs to be given by the Iranian authorities. But I’m sure it will be examined in a much expedited format, because it is in the interest of both countries.

The JCPOA can yield inviolable and noticeable results for Iran. How do you find the achievement of the agreement, the process thereof and its potential effects in the future?

I would like to congratulate the government of Iran, the government of President Rouhani and the negotiating team on top of all, H. E. the FM and the Supreme Leader who has given the necessary directives and guidance so that we have this successful result.

It is truly a historical agreement all over the world between E3+3 and Iran and it is a win-win agreement. Not just for one side, but it is very balanced. It serves our global effort in the NPT, promotes security and most significantly is Iran’s return to play a natural, physical role in regional and global affairs, and its people are seeking for a bright, better future after the sanctions are taken out.

Many are concerned that if the Republicans win power in the US, the agreement may go down to ashes.

I think we cannot intervene in the domestic affairs of the US and we don’t know how this procedure will go on. I mean we do not know who the next head of state would be. No one knows. And anyway whatever it is, it will naturally be the will of the Americans.

What we know is that here, there is an international agreement. To put it in a very simple way, let us just say that we have an international agreement in which the parties are not only Iran and the US, but also the EU and its 28 members and 3 important members were part of this agreement, the UK, France and Germany; the other two permanent SC members, Russian Federation and China. So the Vienna Convention on the Law Treaties of 1963, which is a kind of the gospel for the international law all over the world, says that after an international text or agreement is signed, it cannot be defeated for domestic reasons. Also, according to the same Convention, the Latin Maxim is entrenched, Pacta Sunt Servanda (agreements must be kept). What is it? It means when you sign something, you should keep your word. This is very well known and well established all over the world. So even if you have another government with a different political understanding in the US, UK, Russia, China or elsewhere concerning the agreement, no one can act on his own without any good reason; even theoretically to say the agreement is not implemented so as to give a reason to them to say they need to distance themselves. For this simple reason, Iran has said it would fully implement the JCPOA.

You stand among the few diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus who know Arabic rather well and that contributes vastly to your understanding of the Arab World. In your point of view, how has the JCPOA affected the relations of Iran with the Arab countries in the region?

It is a difficult question, because your relations with some of them have not been at their best. Then, of course, we have so many areas of conflicts in the Middle East where there are different approaches by the UN or them. Again without further analyzing this, we can discuss this matter. So to see what the next stage of the relations would be isn’t something very quick. It takes time. I will answer your question in a different way, hopefully to elicit a proper response.

Let us be frank. Some of your neighbors, your immediate geographical neighbors, are frightened by this agreement; right or wrong; justified or unjustified. To talk basically, you are a huge country that have thrived in education, every sector of the economy, industry, culture, history, technology, resources (not only gas).

Comparing to your immediate neighbors, they are lacking a lot of these things. They fear domination; Iran is back now. Obviously, I can call this kind of an initial shock. Because let’s face it, for thirty years or more, Iran was in isolation. Now you will be engaging. I think none of the parties should wait and see which one takes the first step to build the confidence among themselves. There will be ups and downs without any doubt. Because we have this shock and regional conflicts taking place. It will take time. But what is important is the messages that come out from different circles, including Iranian circles. I’m more aware, of course, because we are dealing more with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we have a lot of interactions with it. We know very well that Mr. Zarif is talking about engaging, and this has to continue. We do believe that after the implementation day in Iran, there is no barrier, hindrances or sanctions for reentering the country. Let’s say we are more relaxed in contributing to a solution. Iran was contributing in the past, but now it is contributing more tangibly. As an example, I can refer to what was not a situation in the past (the Syrian crisis), but it is now. Iran is now a member of the international Syria group. It is positively contributing in the discussions and that has caused a more increased role to play to implement the UN SC resolution 2054 Syria. And Iran will take part in the meetings that start on 29^th of January in Geneva. The solution and the agreement in Iran’s nuclear program give us extreme hope. We are not arguing that the format of getting the agreement is the same one concerning Syria. But it is also a multilateral format there. So if we could do it for the nuclear case, why can’t we do it for Syria? Esp. now that we have finally reached a format in which the influential countries, without any exclusion or isolation, are there to contribute to a solution.

So back to your question, I want to see, like all of us, that there is a bright future in the relations of Iran and Arab countries. There is not luxury of war, conflicts or isolation. We are somehow a part of this region. I mean you are talking to the ambassador of an EU country which is a part of the Middle East. Your problems are our problems. It will take time to do this. It is important for all of us to keep on trying, engaging, building and trying without exclusion. Everyone has to play their role and contribute to the peace and security of our regions.

These are ear-pleasing slogans. But when it comes to actions, international equations become very perplexing, as every country seeks its own interest in the game.

It will always be like this. We still have to try. Whoever believes in it genuinely has to do their best, acts and deeds.

What I always say is what our former President once said concerning international relations. Cyprus is a small country with a very big problem, the Turkish invasion. It is an EU member. What I am trying to say is that all the appreciation and support we can get from our international partners, considering the size of our country and its big problem, can only be gained if we are consistent in our approach and transparent in developing our friendly relations. Having said this, we strive to develop friendly relations with all the countries of the world, among them, of course, is the Islamic Republic of Iran. We are appreciative of Iran’s stance on the protection of our territorial integrity, sovereignty and the Republic of Cyprus and the fact that it is respectful of the UN resolution regarding the Cyprus problem.

You have a good friend who wants to develop its bilateral relations with Iran, esp. now that these sanctions and hindrance prevented us from finding the full potentials of Iran. We, as a member of the EU, are very pleased to support and contribute to Iran’s development of multilateral relations with us and other international organizations.