The president of the Greek Cypriot administration said on Sunday that his administration is committed to expanding defense and security cooperation with the United States, despite continued criticism from the Turkish Cypriot side.

The announcement comes after Nikos Christodoulides met with US President Joe Biden last week and charted the course for “ambitious next steps” in bilateral relations which are currently at an “historic high”.

Christodoulides said his government’s “clear foreign policy direction” had helped deepen the strategic partnership between Cyprus and the United States during the first 18 months of its five-year term, in areas such as law enforcement cooperation on anti-money laundering and sanctions evasion, as well as energy. .

The centerpiece of this security cooperation is the U.S.-funded Port and Maritime Security Center, where officials from neighboring countries including Libya, Yemen and Lebanon receive key training ranging from cybersecurity in ship inspection.

Last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu criticized the recent meetingaffirming that no one can ignore the existence and rights of Turkish Cypriots.

Another reason for his criticism was that this American support threatens the delicate balances of the region, because “Washington is trying to intimidate the Turkish side by saying that it would provide more support to the Greek Cypriot administration if the TRNC did not support discussions at the federation level. »

“The United States must immediately stop encouraging such impudence,” Ertuğruloğlu said, criticizing the United States and the world community for considering Greek Cypriots as the only legal representatives of the island.

For his part, responding to an Associated Press (AP) questionnaire, Christodoulides said that Greek Cyprus “has the vision to transform its immediate region, alongside its partners, into a region of promise, stability, cooperation and of prosperity.”

The Cypriot president said his administration was “certainly considering” obtaining U.S.-made weapons after a decades-long arms embargo was lifted in 2020.

Christodoulides argued that the importance of his administration also lies in its strategic location when it comes to combating migration.

He said several countries view Cyprus as a “supported departures hub and temporary safe place (TSL)” where the island’s ports, airports and designated temporary accommodation are used for civilian or military departures. He did not specify these countries.

He said Cyprus was ready to respond if and when a mass evacuation from Lebanon was triggered.

He further highlighted cooperation with the United States in sending aid to Gaza.

Christodoulides said work was underway in cooperation with the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union to reactivate the sea route to Gaza via the Israeli port of Ashdod. The aid collected will be subject to security screening in Cyprus and shipped to Ashdod “for rapid delivery to Gaza”.

However, Turkey warned partner countries not to use Cyprus as a base to deliver weapons to Israel as this could plunge the island into conflict, threatening regional peace.

The island of Cyprus is mired in a decades-long conflict between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of UN diplomatic efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement. Turkey is a guarantor country of the TRNC and fully supports a two-state solution on the island, based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.

The Sabah Daily News Bulletin

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