The president of Cyprus welcomed this Saturday the decision of the United States to lift the arms embargo on that Mediterranean country, on the condition that Nicosia continue 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, divided since the Turkish army invaded the north in 1974, in response to a coup by Greek Cypriot nationalists who wanted to link the island to Greece. .
The United States hoped to prevent an arms race and encourage a peaceful solution between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority. On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lifted defense trade restrictions on Cyprus (a member of the European Union), State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“This is a historic decision, reflecting the growing strategic relationship between the two countries, including in the area of security,” Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on his Twitter account.
Some critics say the US embargo has backfired, forcing Cyprus to seek other partners, while NATO member Turkey maintains 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, given that Nicosia signed an agreement with Moscow in 2015 allowing the 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 the embargo now decided, Cyprus must “continue its cooperation” with Washington, including “continuing to take necessary steps 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 for its invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Observadora
