The Russian embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus on Friday declined to provide details over a report that emerged last week concerning the fate of donations provided by Russian investors for the ongoing construction of an Orthodox cathedral in the coastal city of Limassol.
The funds are currently held in an account at a now liquidated bank in the island republic.
Speaking to local media on Friday, a spokesman for the Russian embassy merely noted that “…what had to be said on the matter has already been said.”
Though he did not disclose the sum of money concerned, the embassy spokesman sought to clarify that works for the Cathedral have not stopped, but were delayed due to the ongoing issue with bank.
The matter was broached last week by the general-secretary of the AKEL party, Andros Kyprianou, after his meeting in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The latter expressed concerns that despite assurances from the Cypriot government that the issue will be addressed, nothing has happened.
The original time-table called for completion of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Limassol within 2019, something that now appears remote, due to the freezing of the bank account.