Nicosia [Cyprus]: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put several states in the Middle East in a very difficult position. On the one hand, they cannot openly condone aggression and the invasion of an independent country by a powerful neighbor and so they must speak against it (without angering Moscow), and on the other, they do not want to put at risk their mutually beneficial relations with Russia by imposing sanctions.
So, these countries are engaging in the delicate balancing act of verbally condemning the invasion and at the same time refrain from joining the economic and other sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West.
