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Biden Strengthens Cyprus’s Role in Western Defense Strategy [1]
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Date: 2025-01-18
Three days before his presidency ended, Biden included Cyprus in three crucial U.S. defense programs with a pen stroke. Cyprus can now buy advanced defense equipment and training directly from the U.S. government, get used military equipment that the U.S. no longer needs, and join special training programs.
The President based his decision on two important U.S. laws, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act. These laws allow the U.S. to help other countries with defense if it makes the U.S. safer and promotes peace worldwide. The Cypriot President, Nikos Christodoulides, recently visited the White House, which helped finalize this deal.
The agreement highlighted the significant strategic value the Biden administration attaches to the island. During the meeting, President Biden thanked President Christodoulides for Cyprus’s humanitarian efforts in the Gaza war and the Republic’s support for Ukraine.
The President believes helping Cyprus with defense will make America more secure and contribute to peace globally. He instructed the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to share his decision with Congress and make it public by putting it in the Federal Register.
Cyprus assisted in supplying humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza by way of a maritime corridor that was launched and served as a transit point for the evacuation of foreign nationals from Mideast conflict zones. “The furnishing of defense articles and defense services” to Cyprus, Biden said in his executive action, “will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace.”
Turkey, the only country in the world that does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and has occupied the island’s northern part since 1974, reacted angrily to the U.S.-Cypriot agreement. It expects the incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, who will take office on Monday, to reverse what it described as a “mistaken step taken by the current president.”
In the past, Trump described Erdoğan, Turkey’s President, as ‘a very good friend.’ In “War with Ourselves,” McMaster (2024) reported that Trump bypassed him by giving Erdoğan a personal phone number so they could talk ‘anytime.’ Trump’s business also has financial interests in Turkey. In October 2019, with the approval of Trump, Erdoğan sent Turkish forces, along with some Syrian allies, to attack the Syrian Kurds in northeastern Syria near the border. This caused death and devastation to many Kurds.
American officials will visit Cyprus to discuss upgrading the Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos. The EU has shown interest in using a naval base on the island. Cyprus has been an EU member state since 2004 and is only one of three EU countries that is not a member of NATO.
Through the use of military force, Ankara has created a pseudo-state in northern Cyprus, which only Turkey recognizes and objects to Cyprus’s NATO membership. Though a member of NATO, Turkey plays the West against Russia and derives benefits from both sides. Ankara bought S-400 missiles from Russia, played a double game in the war in Ukraine, and supported terrorist organizations in the Middle East, including ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
January 15, 2025
Memorandum on the Eligibility of the Republic of Cyprus to Receive Defense Articles and Defense Services Under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act
www.whitehouse.gov/...
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