Statement of the TRNC Mİnistry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Extension of the U.S. Decision to Lift the Arms Embargo on the Greek Cypriot Administration

It will be recalled that the United States of America introduced arms sales restrictions on the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCA) in 1987. The said restrictions were partially lifted by a decision of the US administration in 2020, fully lifted by another decision in 2021, and since then, the implementation of this decision has been continued through annual extensions. As such, the US administration has most recently announced its decision to lift the arms sales restrictions on the GCA for another year, covering the period from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026. Similarly, it is also understood that the Greek Cypriot attempts aimed at convincing the US administration to further ease the arms sales restrictions by extending the review period to once in every five years and eventually eliminate the review altogether, are continuing in full force.

In early 2025, it was also announced that the US deemed the Greek Cypriot side eligible to benefit from the Foreign Military Sales and Excess Defense Articles Program, and in this regard, it was recently reported that Greek Cypriot officials announced that steps are being already taken to attain weapons from the US and a list of requirements was prepared.

The US decisions that facilitate the armament of Greek Cypriot side as well as its support towards enhancing the Greek Cypriot military capabilities is not only in contradiction to promoting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, but, together with the GCA’s ongoing military cooperative activities with the third parties, it also contributes to turning the island of Cyprus into a target in the Eastern Mediterranean region, threatening the security of the island.

In the light of these realities, we call upon all related parties to act with common sense and cease encouraging the provocative and aggressive attitude of the Greek Cypriot side.