Cyprus’ political parties on Thursday largely welcomed the United States’ decision to allow the Republic of Cyprus to purchase military hardware directly.
Disy leader and House president Annita Demetriou described the move as an “extremely important development in further deepening bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation on defence and security issues”.
She added that it was “made possible after the first and decisive step” of introducing an annual rolling waiver of the arms embargo placed on Cyprus by the US, which took place in 2019 when Nicos Anastasiades, of her party Disy, was president and came into effect in 2022.
“We are particularly pleased with the recognition of the Republic of Cyprus by the US as a reliable strategic partner in the eastern Mediterranean region for the promotion of stability and security,” she said.
“The new prospects which are opening up for our country confirm Disy’s longstanding position in favour of a consistent western orientation, which strengthens Cyprus’ ability to build strong alliances,” she added.
“Through those alliances, we can defend our people’s interest with confidence in the international arena.”
Her words were echoed by Diko, which described the move as a “historical milestone with multiple benefits”.
“This is a historical development which upgrades [Cyprus] geopolitically and highlights the recognition of its important role as a pillar of stability and security in the eastern Mediterranean, strengthens the Republic of Cyprus’ credibility on the international stage, and is a milestone for our national defence,” it said.
It added that the move “enables our country to respond to modern security challenges in an effective, flexible, and economically sustainable manner”.
It also said the move will allow Cyprus to “strengthen its border security and enhance its capacity to tackle illegal activities such as human trafficking, drugs, and illegal migration”, as well as strengthening Cyprus’ “ability to respond to terrorist threats”.
“Diko strongly supports the exploitation of this historic opportunity, so that Cyprus can play a leading role in promoting peace, security, and stability in the region, while at the same time ensuring its national sovereignty and strengthening its international credibility,” it said.
Akel was less satisfied, saying the move “is a reminder that the US’ imposition of an arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus was and remains an outrageous reversal of logic”.
“The US imposed an embargo on Cyprus, the victim of the 1974 invasion, while continuing for decades to arm the perpetrator of the invasion, the occupying power, Turkey,” it said.
It also criticised President Nikos Christodoulides and his government for its support for the “infamous” law passed in 2019 which allowed for the rolling annual waiver to be introduced.
The law, it said, “serves the geostrategic interests of the US in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East region by requiring the Republic of Cyprus to destroy its relations with important states such as Russia and China”.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden had issued a Presidential determination on Wednesday night which incorporated the Republic of Cyprus into three programmes run by the US department of defence.
Those are the US defence security cooperation agency’s foreign military sales (FMS) programme, its excess defence articles (EDA) programme, and programmes to allocate resources under the US’ ‘Title 10’ security assistance provisions.
Wednesday night’s decision has no relation to the US arms embargo placed on the Republic of Cyprus, although this is currently waived on an annual basis.
The US placed an embargo on arms being transported to Cyprus in 1987 hoping such a move would coerce the island’s population into solving the Cyprus problem.
The embargo was then lifted with conditions in 2022 under the East Med Security and Energy Partnership Act, which hinges on the US president of the day certifying each year that Cyprus continues to meet a list of requirements outlined in the act.
Those conditions relate to whether the Cypriot government is cooperating with the US on matters such as anti-money laundering regulations and financial regulatory oversight, as well as Cyprus denying Russian military vessels access to its ports for refuelling and servicing.
Click here to change your cookie preferences