With a legislative initiative, U.S. lawmakers are attempting to bring back the annual renewal of the lifting of the arms sales embargo on the Republic of Cyprus.

The “Cyprus Embargo Ending Act,” reintroduced by the leading members of the Congressional Greek Affairs Caucus (Chris Pappas, Gus Bilirakis, Dina Titus, and Nicol Malliotaki), is a bipartisan initiative that would extend the embargo renewal period from one year to five years.

Under current law, the US President has instructed the State Department to certify annually that Cyprus continues to meet all the conditions outlined in the East Med Act to be granted an annual waiver of the embargo. If the new bill is eventually passed, this will effectively mean that the restrictions on lifting the embargo will be removed, as the waiver will be automatically renewed every five years.

More specifically, the new legislation would:

– Extend the renewal period for lifting the arms embargo from one year to five years.

– Allow the President to review the lifting of the arms embargo only every five years.

– Prohibits the President from terminating the lifting unless Congress receives certification that the Republic of Cyprus is not cooperating with the United States on anti-money laundering, economic oversight reforms, and denial of access to Russian military vessels for refueling and maintenance.

As US lawmakers note, “this change will enhance the historic rise in relations between the US and the Republic of Cyprus, expanding bilateral cooperation and advancing US security interests in the Eastern Mediterranean”. In this context, they note that over the past two decades, US-Cyprus relations have strengthened significantly, with Cyprus emerging as a key ally for US interests and regional stability.

It will be recalled that the “Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019” authorized the US President to lift the arms embargo on an annual basis.

However, US lawmakers believe that the new legislative initiative allows for the next logical step to be taken after the embargo is fully lifted and all obligations on the part of Cyprus are fulfilled. In this way, they believe that a longer-term arms planning will be possible, allowing for better cooperation between Washington and Nicosia in the security field.

As they explain, the need for annual renewal limits Cyprus’s ability to plan for the long term and procure US defense systems, thus jeopardizing military interoperability between the two countries.

In this light, they emphasize that the annual renewal creates side effects that impact joint cybersecurity and maritime security research, ultimately reducing the effectiveness of the United States Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, in which Cyprus has participated.

The legislative initiative is supported by the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), the Hellenic Coordinating Effort, the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), and the Global Coordinating Committee for the Cyprus Struggle (WCC).

Chris Pappas

“The Republic of Cyprus is a stable democratic ally in the Eastern Mediterranean and an essential partner in ensuring regional security. This policy change will further strengthen the U.S.-Cyprus bilateral relationship, support our mutual commitment to security and defense cooperation, and improve long-term planning and procurement coordination.”

Gas Bilirakis

Cyprus has proven to be a valuable and reliable partner for the United States. Providing planning certainty to Cyprus will allow the partnership to continue to flourish and will prove mutually beneficial to both nations and our allies.”

Dina Titus

Cyprus is a key partner in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the US must continue to make efforts to improve diplomatic relations between our two countries. Reducing the time necessary to review the embargo on Cyprus will allow this important ally to plan strategically for the future while supporting U.S. security interests abroad.”

Nicol Malliotaki

“For too long, the United States has maintained an outdated and counterproductive embargo on the sale of defense equipment and services to the Republic of Cyprus. Our legislation seeks to remedy this by recognizing Cyprus as a key strategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean and allowing the responsible export of U.S. defense articles in support of our shared security interests. By strengthening Cyprus’s ability to defend itself, we can promote greater stability in the region.”