The sky is the limit when it comes to bilateral relations between Cyprus and the United States, the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, said in an interview to American media outlet Breitbart News, which was published on Sunday and was also shared by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.
Speaking to Breitbart News on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Christodoulides said that American President Donald Trump has a ‘unique advantage’ in world affairs because, while he is bold, everyone knows where they are in his book, which helps him negotiate better than anyone.
He also explained how Cyprus wrapped its rotating presidency of the European Union’s council earlier this year, and how he sought to bring Europe closer both with the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East but also with the United States.
‘The number one highlight of our presidency was to bring the region closer to the European Union,’ President Christodoulides said. ‘It took a lot of time and effort in order to make my colleagues, the European Council, understand the importance of the greater Middle East, and we are very glad. Within this context, we also had an informal meeting in Cyprus with the 27 member states; the leaders of the 27 member states, and the presidents of the institutions with leaders of the region. The second one is the importance that we attach finally as a European Union on the issue of defence. We are spending through the SAFE instrument 150 billion euros in order to enhance the capabilities of the European Union and the member states. The third point, which is very important for us, in certain issues, is we may have different approaches with the United States, but we don’t have the luxury in any way to have a transatlantic rift’, he noted.
Referring to the Cyprus problem, President Christodoulides told Breitbart News that the ‘great obstacle’ in the way of a solution is Erdogan’s intransigence, adding that every other nation in the region, including Greece, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, India, and also the United States, and others, are all working together, except Turkey, which is not.
Referring to the appointment of the new US ambassador to Cyprus, John Breslow, President Christodoulides said that the United States is Cyprus’ most important partner in trade, defence, and security in all sectors, adding that Cyprus is working very closely with the United States to upgrade its military infrastructure.
He added that in his decades of work, he has never seen Cyprus as close as it is now with America.
‘Today, I’m very glad that the United States is our closest ally; defence, security, intelligence. We are working very hard. We have U.S. investments in Cyprus on trade. The sky is the limit when it comes to our bilateral relations with the United States, and as I told you before, we’re very glad that we have the United States back in the region, especially with this administration, which fully understands the importance of the Middle East, of the greater Middle East, and we’re very glad that we’re working together’, he stressed.
He further noted that the reason why Cyprus and the United States, especially under Trump’s leadership, are natural allies is because of deep common interests, including energy, with Chevron and ExxonMobil, two of America’s biggest energy companies, being both active in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone seeking to help produce natural gas energy.
Asked about this area of development between the two countries, President Christodoulides told Breitbart News that with developments in the Middle East throwing the world’s energy supplies into chaos, the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean as an alternative are all the more important for Europe and the world. He also said there are major energy announcements expected in early October in Cyprus that will even further deepen the ties.
He also said that Cyprus being able to help power Europe and working to create more Western energy sources is extremely important as evidenced by the Russian war in Ukraine proving that depending on malign actors for energy is a pathway to calamity for the West.
Another major area of cooperation between the U.S. and Cyprus, according to the President, is on protecting Christian minorities in the Middle East, adding that the Christian minorities in many Arab nations in the Middle East are critical to ‘stability’ and that he is working with the United States and Trump on this front.
President Christodoulides said that the ‘convergences’ with the United States and Cyprus when it comes to cultural issues like protecting Christians but also on trade and energy as well as other economic matters and most importantly on defence and security are ‘endless’. He also pointed to the hopes of movement on the idea of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC, adding he also met with Trump in person in Egypt at the Gaza peace summit last year, and that he hopes to visit the White House soon.
One of the big developments in U.S.-Cyprus defense relations is that an arms embargo was lifted recently, and now the United States can sell weapons to Cyprus, the President said, expressing hope that the arms embargo lifting does not need annual sign-offs, but can be renewed every five years instead. He added that investments from American businesses into Cyprus, not just in defence, are happening “at historic rates right now.”
‘Another sector that is very important is we have US investment in Cyprus probably for the first time in such an extent,’ President Christodoulides said in closing, adding that American companies, by investing in Cyprus, they not only invest in a country of almost 1 million people, but ‘they invest in Europe, in a market of 450 million people, and at the same time they have access-they use Cyprus as a gateway-to the greater Middle East.’