Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, at the inauguration ceremony of the CYCLOPS Training Centre
Larnaka, 6 April 2022
It is a great pleasure to welcome to Cyprus, once again, the Under Secretary for Political Affairs of the US State Department Victoria Nuland.
Your visit comes at a critical time as the rules and norms of the international system are severely tested by an ongoing war, which is both illegal and unjustified.
It is imperative that Russia ceases now its invasion of Ukraine and withdraws its forces. The violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any State must always be condemned, unequivocally and unreservedly. This is the most fundamental principle of a rules-based international order.
The recent, momentous upgrading of the bilateral relations between Cyprus and the U.S. echoes the assessment of them, in 2014, of, then Vice-President Biden as a “…genuine strategic partnership…”. Over the last eight years, we have seen the transformation of this partnership through tangible action, particularly in our security co-operation. We firmly believe this to be an irreversible process, with further, great potential.
This ever-expanding relationship clearly enjoys strong bipartisan support in Washington, as evidenced by the 2019 Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act, which was adopted by Congress. In both Security and Energy, emerging synergies between us can have a catalytic effect for solving a range of pending issues. Combined with the positive agenda underpinning our trilateral mechanisms with like-minded, regional partners, we can look to the future of the region with optimism.
This state-of-the art facility we formally inaugurate today is the crown of our security co-operation. Allow me to officially extend our gratitude for the invaluable involvement of the US Government in setting it up. Our aspiration is that the CYCLOPS Training Centre in Larnaca becomes a regional Centre of Excellence for specialized training in all security-related fields.
Let me conclude, Madame Under Secretary by pointing out that at a time when the international system is experiencing tectonic shifts, it is incumbent upon all of us to redouble our efforts to achieve the objective of a stable and secure environment.
Here in the Eastern Mediterranean, an effective security architecture cannot be established without a viable and functional solution of the Cyprus Question. The far-reaching Confidence Building Measures which we have recently re-introduced for discussion can kickstart an inclusive, results-oriented process leading to the resumption of negotiations on the Security Council-endorsed basis.
A solution will, among other things, further facilitate the role of an anchor of regional stability that we are already carrying out, in close co-operation both within the European Union family as well as with our Middle East neighbors and friends. It is, however, the blossoming co-operation with your country, the United States of America, that is swiftly becoming a game-changer in our joint quest for regional stability, security, and prosperity, under win-win conditions. We are committed to this and look forward to the further deepening and widening of our relations.