The lifting of a US arms embargo against Cyprus for another year has been branded a “grave mistake” by the Turkish foreign ministry, it emerged on Sunday.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the decision will lead to arms race on the island, which could undermine delicate balances in the region.
“In the face of the increasing armament activities of the Greek Cypriot Administration, we believe that the TRNC will take all necessary measures to increase its defence and deterrent capability,” the Turkish foreign ministry said.
It added that it agreed with the views expressed by the ‘foreign ministry’ in the north.
The US imposed the arms embargo in 1987. In 2000 the decision was taken by Washington to lift the arms embargo, which was implemented in 2022 and again in 2023.
On Friday the Biden administration again decided to keep the embargo lifted for another year, to come into effect on October 1, and expiring on September 30, 2025.
“This action continues the Department’s current policy, which originally lifted the arms embargo to the Republic of Cyprus, under section 126.1 of the ITAR, on October 1, 2022,” the state department said.
This was despite a group of United States congressmen tabling a bill in May which would extend the waiver renewal period for the country’s arms embargo on Cyprus from one year to five years.
The four said at the time that such a change would “bolster the historic growth in US-Cypriot relations, enhance bilateral cooperation, and advance US security interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
When the embargo was extended in August last year, the foreign ministry said its extension “demonstrates the continued upgrading of Cyprus-US bilateral relations in the field of justice”.
President Nikos Christodoulides referred to improved Cyprus-US relations in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency published on Sunday.
Speaking from New York, Christodoulides said that they are going through their best period and have never before been so upgraded at all levels.
A few months ago, Cyprus and the United States launched the Strategic Dialogue, while a roadmap for bilateral Defence Cooperation has been signed between the two countries.
“The role of the Republic of Cyprus as a reliable partner and as a factor of stability and security in the region is recognised through a coherent and consistent policy that we follow with concrete actions and not just wishful thinking,” Christodoulides said.
