The new U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, John Brisbois, announced his plans to upgrade the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos during an interview with the Cyprus News Agency on October 4. This base will be updated to accommodate large U.S. military transport aircraft.
Commitment to Support Cyprus
Brisbois firmly stated in this interview that "the United States will support Cyprus in the future." Although this statement does not guarantee official security from the United States, it indicates increasing cooperation between the two countries.
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For a country that has had close ties with Moscow for several decades and has viewed U.S. foreign policy with skepticism, the presence of a U.S. military base in Cyprus is a sign of significant geopolitical changes.
History of Cyprus's Relations with Russia and the West
After gaining independence from Britain in 1960, Cyprus sought to balance its relations between East and West. Under the leadership of Archbishop Makarios III, the first President of Cyprus, the country became one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Relations with the United States were overshadowed by Turkey's invasion of the island in 1974 and Washington's lack of decisive response. These events led to an increase in anti-American sentiments in Cyprus, culminating in a bloody demonstration in 1974.
In the following years, discontent was exacerbated by U.S. arms embargoes in 1987. These embargoes strengthened Cyprus's dependence on Russian-made military equipment.
With the onset of the Ukraine war in 2022, Cyprus openly sided with the West and joined the European Union's sanctions against Russia. This decision marks a significant shift in Cyprus's foreign policy and a desire to get closer to the United States.
Changes in Cyprus's strategic relations with the U.S. continued with the signing of cooperation agreements in security and the establishment of the CYCLOPS training center in Larnaca. This center focuses on training security forces from Cyprus and other countries in various fields such as port security and counter-terrorism.
In September 2022, the United States announced that it had fully lifted the arms embargo on Cyprus. This decision allows Cyprus to import lethal military equipment and reflects a change in Washington's approach toward Cyprus.
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