“Greece and Cyprus relations go beyond any infrastructure project and I am sure that the brotherly relationship between Athens and Nicosia will not be affected by any course of the work of the electric interconnection,” said Serres MP and Secretary of International Relations and the EU of the New Democrats.
Mr. Hadjivasiliou emphasized that Greece remains stable in its strategy and believes in the importance of the corporate cooperation of Greece, Cyprus and Israel, as well as the importance of the cable for energy security and the removal of Cyprus’s energy isolation. However, he pointed out that “this project can only go ahead when the in principle reservations about economic viability are lifted and the technical pending technical.”
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“We cannot talk about implementation when there are costs of cost and payments from the Cypriot side to ADMIE or when we are constantly hearing from some circles in Cyprus reports of supposedly unsustainability of the project, without any relevant study being presented,” he said. Referring to the agreement set by Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nikos Christodoulides, Mr. Hadjivasiliou stressed that “the Cypriot position has not changed” and reminded that there was an approved agreement by the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority for an annual payment of 25 million euros. “If ADMIE does not receive the agreed, then it is likely to be financially exposed, which could also affect the implementation of other critical energy projects. ADMIE also has other important projects, such as interconnection with Crete and the Cyclades, “he added.
The Serres MP pointed out that “the two governments will not allow the Greek and Cyprus brotherly relations to be influenced.” At the same time, he appealed that there would be no “speculation” on the issue that could create an artificial Greek Cypriot tug of war. Finally, he stressed that “the Cypriot side must remain committed to implementing the project”.
In closing, he also commented on the exit of the Turkish research vessel Piri Reis, stressing that “this is another Ankara irritation event for Greece’s initiatives, mainly south of Crete with the arrival of Chevron”. As he said, “it is an aging boat with a more symbolic role than with substantial research capabilities”, and assured that the government “is closely monitoring the situation and always responding in a calm manner.”