Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides signed a memorandum on naval cooperation Wednesday. Cyprus thus agreed to allow Russian anti-terrorism vessels to call at its ports, TASS information agency announced. Presidents of both countries were also present at the ceremony. Several other agreements in the fields of trade, education, technical cooperation and fight against drug trafficking and terrorism. "In 2014, the trade turnover between the two countries declined, which was caused mainly by the market situation factors - oil price downturn," said Russian President Vladimir Putin after his talk with Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades. Putin added that he believes that steady growth will be achieved over the next year. He mentioned that Russia has already provided a EUR 2.5 B loan to assist in the stabilization of Cyprus and has renegotiated the debt to the Balkan country in more favorable terms. Anastasiades stated that he is hoping that through Russia's assistance the 40-year old Cyprus dispute can be resolved. The conflict on the Mediterranean island dates back to 1974 when Turkey occupied its northern part and later a self-proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Over the course of 2014, unification talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been renewed.
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