Cyprus’ New Role in Regional Security
The visit of President Nikos Christodoulides to the White House and his meeting with Joe Biden outline the excellent status of Cypriot-American relations. Only a few days before the US presidential election diplomacy is in full motion. The Republic of Cyprus is gradually embracing a clear Western orientation, and the USA – despite Türkiye’s concerns – is eager to explore opportunities of deeper military collaboration.
Christodoulides’ visit, the first of a Cypriot leader to the White House after the ones of Makarios in 1970 and Glafcos Clerides in 1996, can be considered as the apogee of a rather recent process that started in 2019. In particular, the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Partnership Act stipulated then for ‘robust International Military Education and Training (IMET) programming with the Republic of Cyprus’. In 2020, Washington decided to ease the arms embargo on Cyprus partially, and two years later, in 2022, to lift it completely.
The American objective is to strengthen its military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in a period during which Türkiye tends to act autonomously on several fronts, while Russia remains active, above all in Syria and Libya. Further to this, the USA does not ignore the important role of the Republic of Cyprus during the ongoing Middle East conflict. The situation has become so complex that a few months ago Hezbollah publicly threatened Nicosia for the alleged support it had provided to Israel.
From the prism of the Republic of Cyprus, stronger ties with the USA, and also Israel, can boost deterrence, empower its position and make it ‘geopolitically matter’ in a changing regional order. The risk, however, for the country is to be squeezed in the growing antagonism of others. The alignment of Turkish-Russian security interests around the island of Cyprus can perhaps damage Nicosia’s national interests in the future.
The Republic of Cyprus finds itself at a crossroads. While its strategy is diachronically aiming at resolving the Cyprus Question under the UN aegis, this seems unlikely. Türkiye insists on a two-state solution, and the recent meeting between Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar in New York was not particularly fruitful. Only a few days before the US presidential election, the Cypriot President ought to strike a delicate balance between US security interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, his country’s new posturing and the resolution of the Cyprus Question.
Dr George N. Tzogopoulos is a Lecturer at the European Institute of Nice (Cife), a Senior Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), and an Analyst at the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA).
