President Nikos Christodoulides said he had no knowledge of the planned purchase of a new armoured presidential limousine worth 595,000 euros, hours after details of the procurement became public.
Asked about the matter, Christodoulides said he had only learned of the plan from the press this morning. “I did not know about this,” he said.
The Cabinet decided to procure the vehicle at its meeting on July 16, and the Finance Ministry has since asked Parliament’s Finance Committee to release the 595,000 euros needed to cover the cost, a request the committee is due to examine. The purchase was made through direct negotiation with a car dealership in Cyprus rather than a public tender, and the vehicle’s technical specifications were withheld from Parliament on confidentiality grounds related to its security and armour.
Christodoulides argued that such decisions concern security matters and are made by the relevant state services without requiring the President’s involvement. “No president should know about security matters,” he said.
He went further, alleging a deliberate leak from Parliament aimed at damaging him personally. “There was certainly a deliberate leak from Parliament,” he said, adding that he believed the leak was intended to target him.
He argued that such actions ultimately damage the credibility of public figures in general, and warned that they would end up reflecting badly on whoever was behind the leak.
Responding to criticism over the purchase, Christodoulides dismissed such reactions as “populist,” citing an occasion when he used his own private car to take his young daughter somewhere.
He said he had wanted that personal moment as a father, but was strongly reprimanded afterwards by those responsible for his security, who he said are not responsible for the security of “Nikos Christodoulides” personally, but for the security of the President of the Republic.
He said this kind of populist approach ultimately has the opposite effect from what its critics intend.
