16.04.2019 : 11:35
Cyprus is in a position to “find a whole new day in its relationship with the United States and with the West,” US Senator Robert Menendez said during a visit to Nicosia on Tuesday.
The New Jersey senator's comments came after he held informal talks with Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiades during a visit that comes a week after he announced a bipartisan bill seeking to lift the US arms embargo on Cyprus, which has been in place since 1987.
The discussion with Anastasiades was “excellent, extensive and very positive,” Menendez said, according to Cypriot media.
“We talked about many important subjects; the Eastern Mediterranean’s security strategy and energy strategy, Cyprus’ continuous engagement with the United States, questions of our foreign policy in the region, economic questions, the changing dynamics of Cyprus in its banking zone,” the US senator was reported as saying.
APRIL 14, 2019
KATY TURNER
The US senator that introduced a bill in the Senate that covers concerns of Cyprus has said “We made it clear that we will no longer accept Turkey’s aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean region”.
Speaking to Phileleftheros on Sunday, Democratic senator Robert Menendez, of New Jersey, who heads the Democratic Group in the powerful International Relations Committee, underlined his interest and support for Cyprus.
He also stressed that the Americans “have to do more – we need to increase the support that will allow Greece to fulfill its commitments under NATO” and to lift the arms embargo against the Republic of Cyprus.
In 1987 the US placed restrictions on the transfer of arms and defensive material to Cyprus in an attempt to encourage reunification efforts and to avoid an arms race on the island.
Menendez and Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio submitted the bill aimed at lifting the embargo on the sale of arms to Cyprus, US security relations with Cyprus and Greece, and enhancing energy security in the region this week.
