In Cyprus, presidential elections have begun. According to TASS, more than a thousand polling stations opened at 07:00 local time (08:00 Moscow time).

Residents of Cyprus will choose the president of the country from 14 candidates. The independent candidate Nikos Christodoulidis, Averof Neofitou, a representative of the currently ruling conservative Democratic Assemblage party, and Andreas Mavroyiannis, whose candidacy was supported by the left-wing opposition party AKEL, have the biggest chances of winning.

Voting will end at 18:00 Cyprus time (19:00 Moscow time). The first results will be known by the end of the day.

According to the laws of Cyprus, the media are not allowed to polling stations, and members of election commissions are prohibited from using mobile phones.

Earlier, the current president of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, told reporters that the country was forced to support sanctions against the Russian Federation and change its attitude towards it so as not to be a “stigma” of Europe, disagreeing with the measures taken by the majority.