"It is a kind of an effort to reconstruct the spirit and the philosophy of the Cold War that was ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. I think what we face today is a new kind of Cold War, and we should be very careful how we position ourselves on this."
The West engages in information warfare in order to prepare the public for actual war, Giorgos Lillikas, president of the Citizens' Alliance party said.
"This is not a new thing. We experienced this before the invasion of the United States in Iraq – and there are many books by US authors and journalists describing how the story was built up by the media, — we experienced the same fabrications in the case of the bombardments of Yugoslavia. This is way of how the Western countries try to prepare the public opinion for a new war."
Crisis in Ukraine Against European Interests
The party leader criticized the European Union over its sanctions policy toward Russia describing it as a double-standard and a tactic that would never "drive us to a positive result."
"Towards Russia the EU was easily ready to decide to impose sanctions… In the case with Turkey which is a candid country to become member of the European Union, and which occupied with its military forces European territories in Cyprus, the EU is not willing to impose the same sanctions."
US to Gain Control Over Cyprus if Renewed Annan Plan Succeeds
Putting into action a new version of the so-called Annan Plan on Cypriot reconciliation would allow Washington to gain control over the island country's affairs, the leader of the local Citizens' Alliance party told Sputnik on Wednesday.
Cyprus has been divided into Turkish and Greek zones since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island following a pro-Greek coup. Talks on the reunification of Cyprus resumed on May 15.
According to Citizens' Alliance President Giorgos Lillikas, the current negotiations are based on "the new version of the Annan plan" – a proposal spearheaded by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to unite Cyprus as a federation of two states. During a referendum held on the issue in 2004, the plan was approved by 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots and rejected by 76 percent of Greek Cypriots.
"Indirectly, the United States will also have the interest [in a two-zone federation], because Turkey is a member of NATO and the control of Cyprus by Turkey will lead to a control over Cyprus," Lillikas said. He also noted that in 2004, the United States "tried to satisfy all the claims of Turkey."
"I hope that the Russian government will not accept any solutions that will pass Cyprus under the control of Turkey and indirectly under the control of NATO."
On May 12, US National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said that Washington encourages Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to create a bizonal federation.
"The people of Cyprus do not trust the British government. The Greek Cypriots trust (accept Greece, of course) mainly two countries – the Russians and the French," Giorgos Lillikas said.
Russia and France were the only two countries who agreed to supply Cypriots with weapons following the 1974 invasion by the Turkish military after a pro-Greece coup. Since then, both Paris and Moscow have spoken in support of Cyprus at the UN Security Council.
Lillikas stressed that the current right-wing Cypriot government, on the contrary, has "very good relations with the British," who operate two military naval bases in the country. London regards these outposts as strategic for monitoring the Mediterranean – but also as valuable assets that add weight to the United Kingdom as a member of the NATO military bloc.
Britain has been present in Cyprus since the early twentieth century when it added the island nation to its vast empire in 1914. Cyprus remained part of the British domain as a colony until 1960.
