The flag of Cyprus. File photoMOSCOW, Jul 10After Cyprus joined the Western sanctions against Russia, local residents do not know what to do, since it was the Russians who were ready to spend a lot on vacation and invest in long-term projects, writes the magazine L'Espresso. As noted in the material, the city of Limassol with a Russian-speaking community of 50,000 people is a monument of friendship between the small island and the «Russian giant»: for several decades, Cyprus has developed a special relationship with investors and tourists from Russia.
The head of the Austrian Economic Chamber was criticized for its stance on sanctions «But now a European Union member country has joined the policy of sanctions against Moscow, and the fate of the community and the economy that used to rely on it now hangs in the balance. «How will we be without the Russians?», is a question that walks through the bazaars,» the article says. Before the cessation of air traffic between the two countries, Russian tourists were the second largest after the British, but they were the ones who were willing to spend the most. At the same time, there are a lot of empty seats in the shuttles that run along the embankment with stops bearing the names of local hotels, L'Espresso points out. So, according to local government estimates, due to the reduction in the presence of Russians, the island could lose more than 600 million euros. «This is some kind of joke: tourists who are not allowed to visit the island will go to neighboring Turkey,» complained Haris, chairman of the Limassol Hoteliers Council Theocharus. According to him, «a small island pays a disproportionate price» compared to other European countries. After the start of the Russian military special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, the West stepped up sanctions pressure on Moscow. Many countries have announced the freezing of Russian assets, calls have become louder to abandon energy from Russia. These measures turned out to be problems for the West itself — they led to an increase in inflation and food and fuel prices. 2022/07/35810beccd5c2d65743b0fd4b8ddf56c.jpg» />TAC: Ukraine conflict will tear Europe apart
