Cyprus’ strategic dialogue with the United States is a clear position on the direction of the country’s foreign policy, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Sunday in wide-ranging interviews to the media.

Commenting on opposition Akel’s position that Cyprus is being ‘subservient’ to the US, Kombos said that “Cyprus has paid for ideological obsessions in the past”.

He added that great efforts were made to ensure the credibility of the country, casting “no shadow of a doubt” on Cyprus’ position on several issues, including the Ukraine invasion and money laundering.

“These are the first basic steps which set the background [for the dialogue],” he said.  

He added that secondly, there is a convergence of views, of values more broadly, and thirdly, there is the demonstration of the usefulness of the Cypriot side in a regional crisis that has manifested itself since the conflict in the Middle East.

“All this creates credibility and trust and highlights the importance and value of the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.

He added this effort was built on this basis, in excellent cooperation with the US Embassy in Cyprus, with the State Department, and the result was the recognition of this effort after many frequent and regular contacts with many American officials throughout this period.

Commenting on an upcoming meeting in September in Nicosia to further discuss the strategic dialogue, Kombos said: “It is already the next difficult challenge that we have.”

He explained that necessary preparation and coordination has to be done and that there is a lot of work to be able to respond and bring “tangible results”.

“There needs to be coordination with several agencies, ministries and others that have a role in the various issues, and this and effort that is already underway to get off the ground in the best way possible,” he said.

Commenting further about the strategic dialogue, he said that it was not a document that was signed, but rather “a commitment that was announced”.

“A joint communiqué will be issued in September in Nicosia, which will record the results of the first round [of talks]. So that is the logic by which this mechanism works,” he said. In concrete terms, the strategic dialogue will now mean Nicosia and Washington will engage in high-level talks twice a year on matters concerning six pillars: humanitarian crisis management; terrorism and