The European parliament on Friday distanced itself from Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou’s visit to Moscow last week, saying that he and others who travelled to the Russian capital “did so in their personal capacity”.

In a statement to the Cyprus News Agency, the European parliament said there was “no official European parliament mission to Moscow”, and highlighted that MEPs must disclose their participation in events organised by third parties if the travel costs or accommodation costs were paid for or reimbursed, in part or as a whole, by a third party.

Such declarations typically appear on the European parliament’s website, though in Panayiotou’s most recent declaration of interests, only references to Snepwind, the company which owns his social media platforms and of which he is a director, and Tesla, in which he holds shares, are made.

His visit to Moscow coincided with Russia’s Victory Day – the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender at the end of the second world war. There, he met Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, Russia’s lower legislative chamber. Volodin is a member of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

He filmed a video in Moscow, which he posted to social media upon his return, given that his social medium of choice, X, is banned in Russia.

In that video, he said he was “not here to attend the big military parade” held for Victory Day but instead had travelled to the country “because I want to focus my visit on something different” – the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“My position on the war in Ukraine has always been very clear: the European Union should not focus on sending as many weapons as possible to Ukraine’s army, because it is obvious that this cannot be something that will put an end to this war. In fact, after three years of using this strategy, it hasn’t helped to resolve this war,” he said.

“Prolonging the war only makes the death of Ukrainians and Russian soldiers, as well as civilians, keep going, and also, it increases the chance of a nuclear war. Instead of weapons, the EU should focus on diplomacy.”

He added that he “really believes” that the EU “should be the peacemakers in this war”.

“This is our continent, and we should decide our fate. So, because I don’t want to be like many politicians who talk but don’t act, I decided to put my own ideas into practice,” he said.

He said he was unable to talk to Putin while in Moscow, “because I’m not so important”, but highlighted his meeting with Volodin.

At a previous European parliament plenary session, Fidias launched a scathing attack on what he described as a lack of consistency on the EU’s part over conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East.

“The moral compass of the EU is completely broken. Since 2022, the EU has sent €138 billion to Ukraine in military and humanitarian aid. We have cut diplomatic ties with Russia and imposed the biggest amount of sanctions in history – a quite clear and powerful response. On the other hand, when it comes to Palestine, our stance is completely different,” he said.

“The Israeli government is conducting a brutal genocide, and people are even starving to death, due to the blockade of the last two months. Despite all of this, the EU maintains normal relations with Israel, no big sanctions, no cutting diplomatic ties.”

He added that many EU leaders, including Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, have met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent months, but that “none of you would even consider meeting and just talking with Putin”.

“So, let me ask you, where is our moral consistency?”, he asked.