Pentagon announces partnership with Cyprus National Guard

The U.S. Pentagon late on Saturday announced Cyprus’ membership in the State Partnership programme and the cooperation between the Cyprus National Guard and the United States National Guard.

The event was welcomed by the island’s Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides in a Twitter post. He underlined that this is a particularly important development for the deepening of military cooperation between Cyprus and the United States.

In the announcement, the Pentagon said the Republic of Cyprus’ National Guard has been paired with the New Jersey National Guard to participate in the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Programme.

“Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander met with the Republic of Cyprus’s Ambassador to the United States Marios Lysiotis to officially announce that the Republic of Cyprus was paired with the New Jersey National Guard to participate in the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program,” Pentagon spokesman Robert L. Ditchey II said.

“This selection demonstrates the growing partnership between the Republic of Cyprus and the United States,” the readout noted.

On his part, Petrides welcomed the Pentagon’s announcement, adding that “we are proceeding ahead aiming to continuously deepen our cooperation.”

In September, the United States completely lifted an arms embargo on Cyprus which had been in place since 1987.