NICOSIA, Cyprus, June 18, (AP): Cyprus-US relations have reached their highest level yet after the two countries embarked on a strategic dialogue on key issues including defense, security, energy, crisis management and the fight against terrorism, officials said Monday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the development as a "powerful evidence of the strengthening, deepening (and) broadening of the relationship between our countries acting together in so many areas.”
"It’s a reflection of the fact that Cyprus is an important player in the region, and a partnership for the United States that we deeply value,” Blinken said ahead of talks with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos in Washington.
Kombos hailed the start of the dialogue as a hallmark for the east Mediterranean island nation's closest-ever ties with the US in a tumultuous region where Cyprus can be relied on as a credible partner.
"The message is very simple. Cyprus is part of the solution. Cyprus is part of the answer," Kombos said.
The US has embarked on similar strategic dialogues with 30 other countries, 13 of which are European Union member states.
To illustrate the added value that Cyprus can bring to such a partnership with the US, Cypriot officials have pointed to the Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor from which hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid has been shipped to the Palestinian territory through a US-built pier and causeway.
All aid is security screened in Cyprus with Israeli and US oversight. Assisting in the overall security of the initiative is a US-funded center that helps train Cypriot and other personnel from neighboring countries on issues of maritime safety and security.
Kombos said Cyprus is no longer just viewed through the political lens of its ethnic division that has remained unresolved since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded in the wake of a Athens junta-engineered coup aimed at union with Greece.