President Demetris Christofias has called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Kyprianou to stay at his post at the Ministry, after the latter expressed on Monday his intention to resign, following developments in the aftermath of the deadly incident at the naval base “Evaggelos Florakis”.

The President was speaking at the Presidential palace, before departing for his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader, in the framework of direct talks for a Cyprus solution. “I will talk with Kyprianou and I will ask him to stay at his post” the President stated, adding that it’s up to Kyprianou to decide whether he will stay or not.

Moreover, he noted that the allocation of responsibilities over the deadly incident will happen, but noted that the state cannot be left to anarchy.

If someone needs to be punished for the incident, this is up to the judiciary to decide, and not to the arbitrary will of anybody, the President said. He also noted that he listens to the calls asking for his resignation with patience, “but it doesn’t mean that I ascribe to these calls” he said.