NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’s president said Sunday his administration is committed to expanding defense and security cooperation with the U.S., as his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden last week charted a course for “ambitious next steps” in bilateral relations. which is currently at a “historical corner”.

President Nikos Christodoulides says his government’s “clear foreign policy orientation” has led to a deepening of the Cyprus-US strategic partnership in the first 18 months of his five-year term in areas including law enforcement cooperation to combat money laundering and sanctions evasion , as well as energy.

The centerpiece of this security cooperation is the US-funded Center for Port and Maritime Security, known by its acronym CYCLOPS where officials from neighboring countries including Libya, Yemen and Lebanon receive key training in everything from cyber security to ship inspections.

Christodoulides said his October 30 visit to the White House “it is proof and recognition of the geostrategic role of Cyprus and the potential and capabilities of the country.”

“Cyprus can be a reliable ‘port of stability’ and, at the same time, a country that has the vision to transform its immediate region, together with its partners, into a region of promise, stability, cooperation and prosperity”, Christodoulides said in an email. response to a questionnaire from the Associated Press.

The Cypriot president said his administration is “definitely considering” purchasing US-made weapons after the decades-old arms embargo is lifted in 2020. But what must precede such purchases is for the US Congress to lift the embargo for an extended period. It is currently renewed annually.

Christodoulides said Cyprus’ geostrategic role is highlighted by the fact that, as of September 27, some 3,635 third-country nationals from 29 countries have been repatriated through the island nation after their evacuation from Lebanon. He said several countries consider Cyprus an “assisted departure hub and temporary safe location (TSL)”, where the island’s ports, airports and designated temporary accommodation are used for civilian or military departures. He did not specify those countries.

He said Cyprus was ready to respond if and when a mass evacuation from Lebanon began.

Another key initiative for which Cyprus won international applause and was highlighted by Biden is the so-called Amalthea plan which involved the establishment of Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor through which approximately 20,000 metric tons of aid entered the Palestinian territory earlier this year.

Most of the aid arrived in Gaza through a US-built $230 million temporary jetty project that lasted about four months after being plagued by turbulent weather, security threats and heavy access restrictions. personal.

Christodoulides said that work is being done in cooperation with the US, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union to reactivate the sea route to Gaza through the Israeli port of Ashdod. The collected aid will be screened by security in Cyprus and shipped to Ashdod “for faster delivery to Gaza”.

“We maintain excellent, long-standing relations with our neighboring countries, supported by trust, and have consistently acted as the voice of the region in the European Union and as a reliable interlocutor and partner with all states in the region,” said Christodoulides.

At his decision to invite FBI officials and the US Department of Justice to help Cypriot law enforcement stop Russian sanctions evasion through Cypriot lawyers and accountants, Christodoulides said: “We are firmly committed to clearing our country’s name internationally and proving that Cyprus is a state fully aligned with the principles and values ​​of the West”.

He said that “several cases” of possible sanctions evasion are being investigated” and the goal is to bring them to justice as quickly as possible.”

In terms of energy cooperation, Christodoulides said that both energy giants in the US ExxonMobil and Chevron are actively looking for hydrocarbons in Cyprus’s offshore economic zone is a “vote of confidence” in the island nation.

He said next year would be a “milestone” for both energy companies. ExxonMobil and partner QatarEnergy, which has discovered a sizable natural gas deposit in one of two areas or blocks for which it holds exploration licenses, are scheduled to drill two additional wells next January.

Chevron is expected to finalize a revised development plan for its Aphrodite gas field, estimated to hold about 4.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

“As the first gas from Aphrodite is directed to the market, this automatically makes Cyprus a seller of gas, which is extremely important not only from a monetary point of view, but also for geopolitical reasons,” said Christodoulides.