Public hearings before a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances that have led to last month’s massive munitions explosion, at a naval base, continue with key witnesses giving their testimony on the matter. On Tuesday, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Markos Kyprianou, who resigned his post in the wake of the explosion, and ex Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Guard Savvas Argyrou, who was discharged of his duties, both testified before the Commission, a hearing attended by relatives of the 13 victims and their lawyers.

Kyprianou told the Commission that neither he nor any member of staff at the Foreign Ministry had any responsibility for the blast, explained that he resigned his post assuming the political responsibility in the sense that he had participated in the decision making process to confiscate and unload the deadly cargo on Cyprus.
The decision to unload and keep the munitions in Cyprus was taken by the President of the Republic alone, he said, adding that the decision was correct. He also said that had the munitions cargo been examined at a laboratory faster and had procedures to sell by necessity the cargo moved faster, the explosion would not have happened.