Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Matthew Miller, made a written statement that the USA has lifted the arms embargo on Cyprus for one year.
VALID FROM 1 OCTOBER
Stating that Foreign Minister Antony Blinken determined that the Greek Cypriot Administration fulfilled the necessary conditions under the relevant legislation to allow re-exports and transfers of defense materials to be approved in the 2024 fiscal year, Miller stated that compliance with the conditions is evaluated annually.
Miller reported that as a result of this determination and documentation, Minister Blinken lifted the defense trade restrictions for the Southern Cyprus in the 2024 fiscal year.
The spokesperson noted that Washington’s international arms trade regulations will be changed to reflect the new policy, effective October 1, 2023.
Miller shared the information that this determination does not represent a change, but merely a “redocumentation of the determination of the fiscal year 2023”.
REMOVING THE EXPORT RESTRICTION TO GARY
Under the 2019 Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act and the 2020 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act, the removal of the export restriction of the US defense products to the Southern Cyprus was subject to two conditions.
According to these two laws, the President of the USA reported to the Congress that the GCA cooperated with the United States in its efforts to make regulations to combat money laundering and to implement reforms to control it, and to prevent the entry of Russian warships into its ports for refueling and service. The relevant embargoes are lifted on an annual basis if they report that they have taken and continue to take the necessary steps once a year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs annually reviews the compliance of the Greek Cypriot Administration’s situation with the aforementioned laws and reports it to the Congress.
Source: AA