US Ambassador to Cyprus Julie Davis highlighted the growing military cooperation between Cyprus and the USA following her meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday.
Speaking after the meeting, Davis referred to the cooperation between the two countries, pointing to the military ties and broader bilateral relationship.
“A lot is going on in terms of our military cooperation, in terms of growing our bilateral relationship, and thinking about the next steps that will come,” she said.
Davis said it was “a real pleasure” to be back in Cyprus, adding that she had also been covering the US Embassy in Ukraine while continuing to lead the mission in Nicosia. The ambassador added that she looks forward to a full week of meetings with her Cypriot interlocutors.
“It’s really an honour to have an opportunity to meet with President Christodoulides and to talk about the very robust agenda of issues in front of us. Our work continues. We have an incredible team at the American Embassy that has been advancing our relationship,” she said.
Improving ties
US and Cyprus relations have improved significantly in recent years as the country pivoted away from its ‘non-aligned’, Moscow-leaning relationship to one of greater commercial, political and military cooperation with Washington.
Despite the huge difference in scale between the two countries, cooperation has improved on multiple levels, and particularly under Davis’ term in office.
With a population of around 340 million, America boasts the world’s largest economy with a GDP of around $30 trillion, along with the most powerful military in the world in terms of capacity and reach. Cyprus, meanwhile, is home to around one million people, enjoys a GDP of around $39 billion and is keen to develop its military to a level that can act as a deterrent against external threats, mainly from Turkey.
Cyprus has recently offered to upgrade its Andreas Papandreou airbase in Paphos – with US financial support – so the US may host aircraft there for humanitarian purposes such as evacuating civilians from conflict hotspots in the region.
However, it’s worth noting that, despite the significantly improved relations, Cyprus remains just one of dozens of countries around the world with which America engages in strategic dialogue on issues of common interest.
Lots of talk at the UNGA
Asked about discussions on the Cyprus issue following meetings in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the US ambassador said the annual event provides an opportunity for leaders to hold wide-ranging talks.
“One of the great things about the United Nations General Assembly Week is the opportunity to get a lot of leaders in one place at one time to really engage in a wide-ranging discussion,” she said.
The American diplomat noted that there was “a lot of attention on what is possible in Cyprus and what the next steps might be in terms of negotiations,” adding that the US was going to keep talking and continue working very closely with Cyprus on the issue.
Davis also met with Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on her return to the island. In a tweet on ‘X’, Kombos said the two “reviewed Cyprus-US relations and discussed regional developments, the situation in the Middle East and Russia's war against Ukraine”.
A few controversies
In terms of serving as a meeting point for leaders of all political colours, this year’s UNGA was not without incident and controversy. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had to give his address to the multilateral body via video call this year as Washington revoked his visa prior to the UNGA.
The US State Department also revoked Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa as he was leaving the country after the Latin American left-wing leader rather undiplomatically called on US soldiers to disobey their Commander-in-Chief. Speaking in Spanish at a rally in New York, Petro urged them “to point their rifles not toward humanity, but toward the tyrants and toward the fascists”.
The State Department strongly criticised the remarks as “reckless and incendiary”.
