Nicosia reportedly has requested for US arms and army investments, regardless of objections from long-time member Türkiye
Cyprus has shared a long-term plan with the US on the way it believes it might be part of NATO regardless of opposition from long-time member Türkiye, the Greek newspaper Kathimerini claimed on Sunday.
The island is a former British colony, and was left divided in 1974 after Türkiye intervened militarily to preempt doable annexation by Greece. The next separation into ethnic Greek and Turkish-controlled halves stays a supply of rigidity between the 2 NATO members, which each joined in 1952.
President Nikos Christodoulides, who leads the Athens-aligned Republic of Cyprus, met with US President Joe Biden in late October. In response to Kathimerini, he introduced Biden a roadmap for overcoming the dispute with Ankara and becoming a member of the US-led bloc.
The newspaper described it as “detailed [and] well-thought-out” and profitable the approval of the outgoing Democratic administration. US Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly referred to as it a “win-win” for the events concerned. Christodoulides is claimed to have additionally shared his proposal with former Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland, earlier than she left her place earlier this 12 months.
The Greek Cypriot chief requested the US for a number of coverage modifications, Kathimerini reported, similar to lifting an arms commerce embargo. The ban exists on paper, though lately the US State Division has issued particular waivers to permit weapons provides, a lot to the chagrin of Ankara.
Cyprus additionally needs elevated coaching of its Nationwide Guard by the US and investments in its army infrastructure, the report mentioned. Washington might deploy a everlasting contingent of troops to the Andreas Papandreou airbase, which is situated subsequent to Paphos Worldwide Airport, the plan supposedly suggests.
The reported multi-stage roadmap additionally requires a parallel rapprochement between Türkiye and the EU, to which Cyprus belongs. Ankara has no formal diplomatic relations with Nicosia.
A NATO presence exists on the island regardless of its divided state, because the UK saved two areas of the island for army use when it granted Cyprus independence in 1960. The British function a US over-the-horizon radar station at one of many bases.
The concept of formally bringing Cyprus into the NATO fold has quite a few proponents, together with within the Atlantic Council, a think-tank broadly thought-about the mouthpiece of the bloc. In 2019, its Govt Vice President Damon Wilson argued that accession might facilitate the eventual reunification of the island.
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