Cyprus praised a U.S. memorandum on Thursday that permits military sales, including arms, to the island, calling it a significant step in recognising Cyprus as a key pillar of stability in the conflict-prone Eastern Mediterranean region.
U.S. President Joe Biden boosted security ties with Cyprus on Wednesday by issuing a memorandum that makes the island eligible to receive American defence articles, military sales and training.
Role In Creating Maritime Corridor
Cyprus has over the years played a key role in evacuating people out of conflict zones and established a maritime corridor for aid to war-ravaged Gaza last year.
“This (memorandum) is a clear recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the potential to further contribute to peace and the management of humanitarian challenges,” the Cypriot presidency said in a statement.
Cyprus Shifts Allegiances
Cyprus was close to Russia for decades, but there has been a marked shift in allegiances in recent years.
For many in Cyprus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn parallels to Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and Cyprus, an EU member state, has followed its peers in adopting sanctions on Moscow. It is now getting FBI expertise in countering illicit finance.
Access to the U.S. programmes would enable greater interoperability to respond to regional humanitarian crises, counter malign influence, and combat terrorism and transnational organised crime, the U.S. embassy in Nicosia said.
US-Cyprus Relations
Deepening U.S-Cyprus relations are closely followed by Turkey, which in September criticised the signing of a roadmap to boost defence cooperation between the United States and Cyprus.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion following a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots which triggered the collapse of a power-sharing administration in 1963.
(With inputs from Reuters)
