03.03.2022
The economic sanctions imposed on Russia will not have a significant impact on the banking system of Cyprus, as local banks are minimally affected by the Russian economy and there has been a significant reduction in Russian deposits in recent years, Finance Minister Konstantinos Petrides repeated on Wednesday.
Petrides spoke during an extraordinary virtual Council of EU Finance Ministers, which discussed the consequences of sanctions against Russia and the possible consequences for the European economy.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance, Petrides also noted that Cyprus does not have access to Russian sovereign bonds or any other investment in the Russian economy.
However, he stressed that the decision of the EU to close its airspace to Russian aircraft will negatively affect the tourist flows from Russia to Cyprus, which constitute a significant part of the annual tourist flow.
The Minister underlined the need for non-EU countries to comply with the adopted sanctions, noting that possible non-compliance by EU candidate countries such as Turkey is unacceptable, as this would weaken the effectiveness of the sanctions and benefit from countries.
Petrides also briefed his colleagues on Cyprus’ decision to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as Nicosia’s readiness to accept a number of refugees from the war-ravaged country.
According to the Finance Ministry, finance ministers said the EU sanctions dealt a direct blow to the Russian economy.
With regard to exposure to EU influence, it was said that the impact varies between member states with the main risks associated with rising inflation and especially oil and wheat prices hitting the European economy.
The ministry said it was decided during the council to coordinate and monitor developments in the study of countermeasures.
