US Senator Robert Menendez visited Cyprus on the 15th of April and said some interesting things in the press conference following his meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades. Mostly about how this is a new era for the relationship of the two countries and that there will be a bill introduced that will give financial aid to Greece and Cyprus for military training, interests in energy and more.
As a side note, for those not aware of the situation in the Mediterranean, Erdogan keeps harassing Greece and Cyprus, especially since the offshore drilling began.
The major announcement was that the US will lift the embargo they had on Cyprus for military equipment. The arms embargo against Cyprus was put in place by the US in 1987.
Then Mr. Menendez gave an exclusive interview to Omega TV channel. The piece is in Greek but there is a video with parts of the interview if you care to watch.
At some point Mr. Menendez says that lifting the embargo isn’t about Turkey and it’s not about Russia. It about the countries in the eastern Mediterranean who want to come together, who have shown on the own initiatives [...] they want to work towards a common cause. He goes on saying that this is about how Cyprus can play a key role for energy and promote prosperity in the region (since you know, if we can supply gas then EU won’t have to buy as much from Russia).
According to the congressman, the embargo was a big mistake. He says that the embargo was put in place in an effort to not create an antagonism towards Turkey in the hopes that lack of antagonism would create a foundation on which there could be a resolution for the reunification of the island and obviously that didn’ t work since there are still thousands of Turkish soldiers heavily armed on the island. The Cypriots (Greekcypriots) were left with no other options in terms of their own defense than buying the equipment from Russia.
He continues saying that even though the bill will lift the embargo, he doesn’ t expect Cyprus to go on a military equipment purchasing frenzy since the country has always been a peaceful democratic state.
Now, I may be naive, but to me it seems that 1) this has everything to do with Turkey buying equipment from Russia and not the US and 2) this has nothing to do with Cyprus’ and EU’s energy prosperity but rather the US wanting a dip in the natural gas (which is ok, since some of the companies drilling are American) and delivering a blow to Russia who is supplying 80% of natural gas at the moment. (apparently he doesn’t seem to know that other countries have also made a deal with us, among them Russia)
What is more, the embargo was placed in 1987, thirteen years after the Turkish invasion; they already knew we are a peaceful democratic state, due to our size and our constitution- that the US helped write, and therefore knew we wouldn’t go on an arms purchasing spree. Even if we forget about why the embargo was placed in the first place, that was a different time in the world history, why did it take them so long to lift the embargo? They could have lifted the embargo when they saw Turkey harass both Cyprus and Greece again and again over the years; when Turkish snipers killed protesters in the UN buffer zone. They could have done that when Obama was president. They could have done that when Turkey began intensifying the harassment due to our offshore drilling (I am aware that Mr. Menendez is a Democrat). But no… they choose to lift it now. So who is trying Menendez to convince? this most certainly has everything to do with Turkey and Russia.
Don’t get me wrong, lifting the embargo is more that welcome; it was a punishment for a crime we didn’t commit. But the US won’t have much of a profit directly from it, since we are not buying all that much equipment. Moreover, Russia is a ‘sympathizer’ of Cyprus and the two countries were always close due to common religion and joint financial interests (you all remember the money laundering accusations). So, I am not convinced; this is an attempt to, indirectly, get back at Turkey and Russia. The move won’t harm either one of the two countries’; it’s more of an act of impression, sensationalism in a way, a theater for diplomats. And even though I welcome the bill and the financial help offered, no I am not pleased Cyprus is getting dragged in the argument of three overgrown children. The US should not underestimate our intelligence. We may play along but that makes us neither naive, nor stupid.
P.S. I don’t know if this is of any interest to you. I would like to hear your thoughts and will love to reply if you need further info. Thank you for reading my first (?) piece.