President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday announced that Cyprus was getting ready to join Nato, if and when Turkey withdraws its objections, which it will never as things stand.
The president, who presented Cyprus’ plan to join Nato to the White House at the end of last month, is aiming to at least get a foot in the door.
There are several Nato “ante-rooms” such as Partnership for Peace but these all require the approval of the 32 members, including Turkey.
The bottom rung on the Nato ladder is the ‘Major Non-Nato Allies’ of which there are around 20. Here, the Pentagon has the sole right to admit any country if it serves US interests.
The US has been courting Cyprus with agreements and upgrades in defence since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Cyprus has since turned from Moscow, realising it could no longer play both sides.
Christodoulides acknowledged the island’s geographic location was of “particular geostrategic importance” to the US but the benefits to the island’s defence would be myriad.
This inching towards Nato prompted a new spat between right-wing Disy and left-wing Akel, which on Sunday staged a protest outside the US-sponsored security training facility CyCLOPS in Larnaca, trotting out the well-worn line on the evils of Nato and the West.
“We want a Cyprus that belongs to its people… not to foreign guardians, not to foreign armies, but to its people and only to its people,” Stephanos Stephanou said.
Akel is clearly still living in the past. Some might generously call it “an idealistic version of the world”. But the world has moved on.
The Soviets lost the Cold War and Cyprus at a minimum gave up its economic sovereignty to the EU 20 years ago in return for subsidies and loans. It also forfeited its non-aligned status.
Akel seems to have forgotten that its own policies led to the 2013 bailout, leaving Cyprus beholden to the Troika – the EU, IMF and World Bank – so it doesn’t really have a case to oppose “foreign guardians” whether economic or military.
Disy MP Harris Georgiades pointed out that the protesters outside CyCLOPS were some of the same people who attended the centre’s official opening as guests. He told Akel to make up its mind, accusing the party of demagoguery.
Georgiades was correct to say that at a time when Cyprus needed strong and reliable alliances, Akel had become an anachronism. It still views the world through the lens of the Cold War.
It’s true Nato has more than a few past “sins” under its belt but Cyprus can’t afford to adopt isolationist policies either. Who else is there on world stage to align with?
Sometimes you have to hold your ideological nose and pick a side in the interests of the country, not the party – especially in times of geopolitical unrest and threats of wider wars. Cyprus being “a bridge of peace” is not going to stop WWII.
The party should remind itself how many former “comrade” countries have joined Nato. Just maybe, they know something Akel doesn’t.
