Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Kyprianou stated that he intends to ask the President of the Republic Demetris Christofias to remove him from office, in relation to the deadly events at the naval base in Mari, in south eastern Cyprus.

Speaking after a session of the House of Representatives Defence Committee, which discussed the incident, Kyprianou told reporters that he is resigning, “not because of guilt, but for reasons of political sensitivity.“

Kyprianou also spoke about an effort to turn him into a scapegoat and about a game of impressions and the manipulation of public opinion, following the blast last week.

He expressed his condolences and said he was shocked by the tragedy, as well as the mistakes and omissions that occurred during the handling of the incident, and assured that he will contribute in clarifying the case. At the same time, Kyprianou called on everybody to show responsibility vis-a-vis the case.