The Cypriot President on Saturday hailed the United States’ “historic” decision to fully lift an arms embargo that had plagued the divided Mediterranean island for decades, provided Nicosia continues to prevent Russian warships from entering its ports.
Washington had imposed an arms embargo on all of Cyprus in 1987, hoping to encourage reunification of the island, divided since the Turkish army invaded the north in 1974, in response to a coup d’état by Cypriot-Greek nationalists who wanted to annex the island to Greece.
The United States hoped to prevent an arms race and promote a peaceful settlement between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lifted defense trade restrictions with EU member Cyprus, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“This is a historic decision that reflects the growing strategic relationship between the two countries, including in the field of security,” Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades responded on his Twitter account on Saturday.
Some critics say the US embargo has been counterproductive as it has forced Cyprus to seek other partners while NATO member Turkey maintains troops in the island’s controlled north through the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC, recognized only by Ankara). .
US officials had feared the embargo would bring Cyprus closer to Russia, as Nicosia signed an agreement with Moscow in 2015 that allowed Russian Navy access to its ports.
In December 2019, the US Congress voted to lift the arms embargo to allow the export of “non-lethal” military equipment.
With the full lifting of this embargo, Cyprus must “continue its cooperation” with Washington, in particular by “continuing to take the necessary measures to deny Russian military ships access to ports for refueling and maintenance,” Ms Price added.
The EU has closed European ports to Russian ships as part of sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.