The reasons why the President of the Republic, Nicos Christodoulides, decided to establish the position of Special Political Envoy for the Cyprus Issue to African and Asian countries and to appointappoint Nikos Tornaritis to that position were outlined by Deputy Government Spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou on the “Alpha News” program.
As he explained, for the past two years the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has identified a “gap” in informing the leaderships of African and Asian countries about the Cyprus issue, particularly in regions where Turkey “holds significant influence” due to its “economic strength.” At the same time, he noted that the need to strengthen the Republic of Cyprus’s presence in countries that hold significant influence at the UN led President Christodoulides to select Nikos Tornaritis based on his experience, his knowledge, and his prior service as Head of the Cypriot Delegation to the Council of Europe and in other key positions.
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Yiannis Antoniou highlighted President Christodoulides’ intention to draw on individuals from across the political spectrum and emphasized that this is not a new practice, since both Glafkos Clerides and Tassos Papadopoulos appointed or assigned similar duties to individuals from across the political spectrum.
When asked what the difference is between the appointment of a Special Political Envoy and that of an Ambassador, he replied that the role is elevated since the Special Political Envoy will have the right to request meetings with Heads of State, unlike diplomatic duties, which are limited to diplomatic or consular affairs.
Regarding the possibility of other appointments to new positions, the Deputy Government Spokesperson clarified that the government does not intend “to make appointments every fifteen days,” though he did not rule out the possibility of utilizing other political figures or party officials, especially regarding the Cyprus issue.
When asked whether the government considers the issue of abolishing the Deputy Ministry of European Affairs closed, following the House of Representatives’ refusal to renew Marilena Raouna’s term, Yiannis Antoniou indicated that the President of the Republic is developing a structure, a Secretariat or a unified umbrella body for inter-ministerial cooperation on issues concerning the European Union.
At the same time, he explained that the establishment of a committee to study the possibility of creating a Deputy Ministry of Sports is a step in the same direction, as he believes that the “the supreme law is that the state must act in the best interests of the citizen.”
Mr. Antoniou also responded to criticism from SYKALA, stating that President Christodoulides is the only one of his predecessors to have fulfilled his commitment to establish a Solidarity Fund, with the first installment already having been paid.
Finally, when asked whether the 2027 state budget was drafted as a pre-election budget, Mr. Antoniou replied that President Christodoulides has received a vote of confidence from the citizens and has transformed his pre-election platform into a governance program for which he is accountable to Cypriot society.
