A group of bipartisan lawmakers is pressing Congress to lift long-standing
A group of bipartisan lawmakers is pressing Congress to lift long-standing restrictions on U.S. arms sales to Cyprus, citing a reported Turkish deployment of F-16 fighter jets to occupied Northern Cyprus.
Representative Nicole Malliotakis, Republican of New York, and other members of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus said the move underscores the need to strengthen Cyprus’s defenses and accelerate pending legislation that would permanently end the U.S. arms embargo on the country.
The push reflects growing concern on Capitol Hill over security dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean, where tensions involving Turkey, Greece and Cyprus have increasingly intersected with broader U.S. interests, including NATO cohesion, Middle East instability and energy security.
“Turkey’s decision to deploy F-16s to occupied Cyprus … is a brazen provocation,” Ms. Malliotakis said in a statement, urging House leadership to bring the End Cyprus Embargo Act to a vote. The bill recently advanced out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The United States imposed an arms embargo on Cyprus in 1987, aiming to discourage an escalation of the island’s division between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. In recent years, Washington has partially eased those restrictions, allowing limited defense cooperation through annual waivers tied to financial transparency requirements
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