MOSCOW. Nov 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said Moscow "has recognized the territorial integrity of Cyprus and will continue to do so."
Answering journalists' questions in Moscow on Tuesday about the tension that has flared up between Nicosia and Ankara, he said "we have never welcomed and will not welcome even the threat of force, not to mention its use."
"From the point of view of a threat to security in Europe, a paradoxical situation has emerged when one of the NATO member-countries addresses threats to a state [Cyprus] that will become a member of the European Union," Ivanov stressed after the talks with his Cypriot counterpart Socrates Hasikos.
The Russian minister also reported that at the meeting with his Cypriot counterpart he discussed security in Europe, the struggle against international terrorism, and "bilateral relations, including as concerns the military."
Hasikos, in his turn, told journalists that he filled Ivanov in "on the current state of the Cypriot issue" and on Nicosia's plans to join the European Union. He invited Ivanov to Cyprus on an official visit.