NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus could apply to join NATO once its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with U.S. help to bring them up to the standards of the world’s premier military alliance, the president of the Mediterranean island nation said Thursday.
President Nikos Christodoulides put Cyprus on course for possible NATO membership, ending weeks of media speculation about his government’s intentions following his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington last month. The development goes against Cyprus’ long-held policy of neutrality, which harkens back to the Cold War era, when the country walked a political tightrope between Washington and Moscow.
Christodoulides said that while Cyprus cannot currently join NATO due to objections Turkey would raise to its potential membership, the Cypriot National Guard should not be denied the opportunity to improve its defensive capabilities with American help.
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Turkey, which has more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus, does not recognize the island’s government, which is based in the Greek Cypriot southern part.
Christodoulides did not elaborate on how Turkish objections could be circumvented. But the UN is currently preparing to resume peace talks between rival sides in Cyprus, which fell apart in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of the island’s union with Greece.
“And because we do not want the National Guard to lose such opportunities, we are in discussions with the US – and we thank them for their positive response – on how the Republic of Cyprus can best take advantage of these opportunities. so if everything is in place, the Republic of Cyprus can become a member state of NATO,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.
“Strengthening the deterrent capabilities of the Republic of Cyprus is of the utmost importance, and we are taking advantage of every opportunity, both towards the United States and NATO, but also towards the European Union.”
Christodoulides said Cyprus’s geographical location – it is the closest EU member state to the Middle East just 182 kilometers (114 miles) from the Lebanese capital Beirut – has given a boost to planned upgrades to its military infrastructure. He said the government is currently in talks with the US about upgrades to a key air base and with the EU about a naval base.
After his meeting with Biden, Christodoulides told the AP about his administration’s commitment to expanding defense and security cooperation with the U.S.
Cypriot Andreas Papandreou Air Base on its southwestern edge currently hosts a contingent of US Marines and a number of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft prepared to assist with possible evacuations from nearby Lebanon and elsewhere.
