Cyprus Cancels Meet with Lavrov after EU Says Will Step Up Sanctions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
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Cyprus Cancels Meet with Lavrov after EU Says Will Step Up Sanctions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades cancelled a meeting scheduled with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York after EU foreign ministers agreed to prepare new sanctions against Russia, a government official said on Thursday.

The two had been expected to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly late on Wednesday, Reuters said.

"In anticipation of the decisions of the EU the guidelines from Brussels to avoid bilateral meetings with Russia were followed," Cyprus government spokesman Marios Pelekanos told state radio.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides had earlier participated in a meeting of the EU's foreign ministers in NewYork.

EU member Cyprus has close political and economic ties with Russia, but has followed Brussels lead in imposing sanctions on the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine.



Russia Slams Report it Backed 'Zero Enrichment' Iran Nuclear Deal

A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT
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Russia Slams Report it Backed 'Zero Enrichment' Iran Nuclear Deal

A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Iranian foreign ministry office shows, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomats to Tehran, in Tehran, Iran, 12 July 2025. EPA/HAMID FOROOTAN / IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT

Russia's foreign affairs ministry on Sunday described reports claiming that President Vladimir Putin had encouraged his Iranian ally to accept a "zero enrichment" agreement on its nuclear programme as "defamation".

US news outlet Axios reported on Saturday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that Putin had "encouraged" Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would prevent the Islamic republic from enriching uranium.

The article "appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran's nuclear program", the Russian ministry of foreign affairs said on Sunday.

"Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasised the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions," the statement read.

Publicly, Moscow has defended Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes but in recent months, Putin has also drawn closer to US President Donald Trump.

On June 13, Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, triggering a 12-day war.

The conflict halted negotiations initiated in April between Tehran and Washington to frame Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran.

On June 22, the United States bombed the underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of Tehran, and nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

The exact extent of the damage is not known.