Nicosia: The Republic of Cyprus will capitalize on the decision made by the EU General Affairs Council, along with a recent U.S. decision granting Cyprus access to American military equipment, President Nikos Christodoulides announced on Wednesday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the President, speaking at an event organized by the Cyprus Basketball Federation, remarked on the EU’s substantive decision regarding the SAFE (Support to European Defence) program, which is a defence lending initiative. He emphasized that this is a 150 billion euro package that Cyprus intends to use in conjunction with the U.S. decision, which enhances the country’s access to American military assets. This initiative is expected to significantly benefit the promising Cypriot defence industry.
President Christodoulides further elaborated that, in the near future, along with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Justice, and Finance, final decisions will be made concerning defence equipment and infrastructure, focusing on key sites such as the “Andreas Papandreou Air Base” and the “Evangelos Florakis Naval Base.”
SAFE is described as a strategic tool for Cyprus, with the European Investment Bank recently including defence infrastructure in its agenda to bolster the deterrent capabilities of EU member states.
Responding to comments from the Turkish President about utilizing SAFE in exchange for resuming Cyprus peace talks, President Christodoulides stated that any involvement of a third country requires an EU defence agreement with unanimous approval. He also noted that if Turkey is sincere about improving Euro-Turkish relations, Cyprus is open to positively consider such developments.
The President reiterated the importance of creating conditions conducive to resuming talks based on the agreed framework, respecting EU principles and values. The Cyprus conflict has persisted since 1974, following Turkey’s invasion and occupation of the island’s northern third. Numerous UN-led peace negotiations have yet to produce a resolution, with the last significant attempt in July 2017 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, ending without agreement.
UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres has scheduled an informal meeting on Cyprus for the end of July, following a similar gathering in Geneva in March. The discussions aim to advance initiatives, including opening crossing points and establishing a Technical Committee on Youth.
Guterres has appointed Mara Angela Holgun Cu©llar of Colombia as his Personal Envoy on Cyprus to facilitate the next steps in the peace process. Meanwhile, the European Commission has designated Johannes Hahn as Special Envoy for Cyprus, working closely with Holgun to aid the settlement efforts.