The diplomatic corps have been rattled by information that the cabinet had secretly decided to pay for a costly campaign in New York to get the foreign ministry’s permanent secretary Andreas Kakouris elected to the presidency of the UN general assembly.

Cyprus’ candidate will be up against Palestinian Riyad Mansour, who is considered to be a favourite due to the tragedy that has unfolded in Gaza.

Diplomats are worried that Cyprus is an Israeli and US pawn and is  being played against the Palestinians to weaken their bid, which could ultimately lead to Cyprus’ alienation from the majority of the UN member states.

Although Cyprus had announced its decision to run for the presidency about a decade ago, conditions have turned the tables in favour of the Palestinians and consequently Mansour’s candidacy.

Mansour – Palestine’s permanent observer at the UN – had gone viral in May when he made a sobbing plea to the Security Council to put an end to Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.

Meanwhile, an international conference on the Palestinian question is currently underway in New York, convened by the UN and chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. The conference will peak at the UN general assembly on September 21.

France has already announced it will recognise the state of Palestine along with others it did not name. So far, 142 of the 193 members of the UN have recognised the Palestinian state including Cyprus.

The Palestinians gained observer status at the UN in 2012, when 138 states voted in favour and nine against – including Israel and the US. There were 41 abstentions.

If Cyprus goes ahead with its candidacy, it runs the risk of being alienated by 135 states – including China – that share a common line on Palestine.

A diplomatic source told Politis newspaper that Cyprus should not withdraw its candidacy, but proceed with dignity, without showing that it was trying to take the post away from Mansour.

Although being elected would offer Cyprus multiple diplomatic advantages, the cost of running against Palestine may be comparatively greater.

Information obtained by Politis said a “confidential” campaign had been decided, which stipulated Kakouris would be in New York for a long period of time before the elections.

He would be named ‘head of mission’ and would be paid a salary and all expenses, amounting to between €10,000 and €15,000 a month.

Kakouris, who will be retiring this week, had asked to stay on but met the objection of the trade unions. It appears, Politis said, that a compromise had been reached.

Cyprus has run for the presidency twice before, once with George Iacovou and the second with Andreas Mavroyiannis. For the latter, the whole campaign cost €15,000.

Politis said the information could not be verified as repeated attempts to contact officials had failed.