The president of Cyprus on Saturday welcomed the United States’ decision to lift the arms embargo against that Mediterranean country, provided Nicosia continues to prevent Russian warships from entering its ports.
Washington had imposed an arms embargo on all of Cyprus in 1987 to encourage the reunification of the island, which had been divided since the Turkish army invaded the north in 1974, in response to a coup d’état by Greek Cypriot nationalists who wanted the island to be given to Greece. would be linked.
The US hoped to prevent an arms race and encourage a peaceful solution between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority..
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday lifted defense trade restrictions imposed on Cyprus (a member of the European Union), State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“This is a historic decision, which reflects the growing strategic relationship between the two countries, including in terms of security,” Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on his Twitter account today.
Some critics say the US embargo has been counterproductive as it has forced Cyprus to seek other partners while NATO member Turkey keeps troops in the north of the island controlled by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara.
US officials had expressed concern that the embargo would bring Cyprus closer to Russia, as Nicosia signed an agreement with Moscow in 2015 that gives the Russian navy access to its ports.
In December 2019, the US Congress had voted to lift the arms embargo to allow the export of “non-lethal” military equipment.
Now that it has been decided to lift the embargo completely, Cyprus must “continue its cooperation” with Washington, including “continue to take necessary measures to deny Russian military ships access to ports for refueling and maintenance,” Price added.
The European Union has closed European ports to Russian ships as part of sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
Source: DN
