Cyprus: From ties with Russia to a strategic alignment with the US

The Republic of Cyprus long balanced ties between Russia and the West. Now, it is phasing out Russian weapons, expanding defense cooperation with the United States and redefining its place in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency on October 4, the new US ambassador to Cyprus, John Breslow, outlined plans to upgrade the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos to accommodate large US military transport aircraft.

He also announced plans for more frequent visits by US warships to Cypriot ports and an expansion of joint military activities.

But one statement carried particular political weight: his assurance that "the United States will protect Cyprus in the future."

Although the remark does not constitute a formal US security guarantee, it reflects the growing cooperation between the two countries.

For a country that for decades maintained close ties with Moscow, viewed US foreign policy with suspicion and is not a member of NATO, the prospect of an expanded American military presence marks a significant geopolitical shift.

It is perhaps the clearest indication yet of Cyprus's gradual loosening of ties with Russia and its increasingly close strategic alignment with the United States.

The nonalignment years

The shift is particularly striking given Cyprus's political history.

In the years after it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, the Republic of Cyprus sought to balance its relations between East and West.

Under the leadership of Archbishop Makarios III, the first president of independent Cyprus, the country became a founding member in 1961 of the Non-Aligned Movement, a forum of nations that did not align with either of the two superpowers of the day: the United States and the Soviet Union.

This approach allowed Nicosia to maintain close ties with the Soviet Union without severing its connections to the West.

EU membership

Even after joining the European Union in 2004, Cyprus maintained strong political, economic and military ties with Moscow.

Relations with the United States, by contrast, remained overshadowed by the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974 and the US's failure to take decisive action against Ankara.

The United States prioritized maintaining its strategic relationship with Turkey, a key NATO ally, over taking a tougher stance against the invasion.

The US position fueled widespread anti-American sentiment in Cyprus, culminating in a violent demonstration outside the embassy in Nicosia on August 19, 1974, during which US Ambassador Roger Davies was shot dead.

Mistrust deepened further in 1987, when the United States imposed an arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus, officially intended to prevent an arms race on the island and avoid undermining efforts to resolve the Cyprus conflict.

Close relations with Moscow

The US arms embargo contributed to the reliance of the Cypriot National Guard (the armed forces of the Republic of Cyprus) on Russia-made weapons systems, strengthening the Kremlin's position as a major military partner.

The response by Cyprus to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 illustrated the strength of these ties.

The Cypriot government expressed serious reservations about imposing tougher EU sanctions on Russia. Then-Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides warned that such measures could have devastating consequences for the Cypriot economy.

Relations with Moscow deepened further in February 2015, when President Nicos Anastasiades visited the Russian capital and signed a series of agreements with President Vladimir Putin.

These included a naval cooperation memorandum facilitating visits by Russian warships to Cypriot ports. Moscow also agreed to more favorable repayment terms for its €2.5 billion loan to Cyprus in 2011.

Cooperation remained close as recently as October 2021, when then Foreign Minister and current President Nikos Christodoulides signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework for 2022–2024 in Moscow alongside his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Turning point in 2022

The decisive turning point came just four months later, in February 2022, with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Konstantinos Adamides, an associate professor of international relations at the University of Nicosia, told DW that the invasion accelerated a geopolitical shift toward the West that had already begun.

"For the first time, the Republic of Cyprus openly and unequivocally chose to side with the West, despite the economic and political costs of breaking with Moscow," Adamides said.

Nicosia aligned itself with EU sanctions against Russia, despite the Cypriot economy's strong links to Moscow, particularly in services, investment and tourism.

The decision marked a significant departure from Cyprus's traditional foreign policy approach of maintaining a balance between Russia and the West.

Adamides said the government's position on Russia paved the way for closer relations with the United States, particularly in the field of security.

Nicosia, he explained, succeeded in convincing Washington that it could serve as a reliable partner in the Eastern Mediterranean.

What form does the rapprochement take?

The rapprochement had already gained an institutional foundation before the war, with a bilateral statement of intent on security cooperation signed in 2018.

Further initiatives followed, including the Cyprus Center for Land, Open-seas and Port Security (CYCLOPS), a US-funded training facility inaugurated in Larnaca in April 2022. The center provides training for security personnel from Cyprus and other countries in the region in areas such as port security, counterterrorism and preventing the trafficking of hazardous materials.

An even more significant development for the Cypriot National Guard came in September 2022, when Washington announced the full suspension of the arms embargo imposed in 1987.

The decision allowed for the export of lethal military equipment to Cyprus, subject to the necessary US approvals. The suspension, which was not permanent and remains subject to periodic renewal, has been renewed until September 30, 2027.

Cyprus and NATO

Cyprus's strategic security reorientation is also significant because the country is not a member of NATO.

The crash-landing of an Iranian done on the British military base at Akrotiri in March reignited a debate in Cyprus about whether the country should join NATO.

At the time, President Nikos Christodoulides said that Cyprus was preparing for potential membership at military, operational and administrative level and would apply to join NATO "even tomorrow if it were possible."

He stressed, however, that joining the alliance is not possible because "the political conditions are not there, taking into account the well-known position of Turkey."

Phasing out Russian weapons

Cyprus's changing strategic orientation is also reflected in the modernization of its armed forces.

After decades of relying heavily on Russian military equipment, the country is seeking to gradually reduce its dependence on Russian-made T-80 tanks and Tor-M1 and Buk air defense systems.

The process accelerated following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as sanctions against Moscow made it increasingly difficult to secure spare parts and ammunition for Russian weapons systems.

Another important step came in January 2025, when then-US President Joe Biden authorized Cyprus to participate in American defense procurement programs, including Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Excess Defense Articles (EDA).

The decision gave Nicosia access to additional mechanisms for acquiring US military equipment, further strengthening defense cooperation between Cyprus and the United States.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan