Turning Cyprus from a problem into a solution
Despite its division, Cyprus is an island of stability in an increasingly turbulent part of the world, and is a platform for political, economic, humanitarian and military reach into the Mideast.
“You see Cyprus as a problem,” President Nikos Christodoulides told a group of American visitors over lunch the other week. “But that’s wrong. You need to see Cyprus as the solution.”
The Cypriot president is right. Americans have long seen Cyprus as a problem — mainly because it’s been a source of conflict between two key U.S. allies, Greece and Turkey, an island divided for 50 years. A quick glance at the U.S. State Department’s page on “US Relations with Cyprus” affirms this point, focusing on the Cyprus conflict immediately after its first sentence.
But the country — an EU member since 2004 — has far more to offer beyond being the unfortunate locus of Turkish regional ambitions.
Despite its division and the ongoing conflict, Cyprus is an island of stability in an increasingly turbulent part of the world, providing a platform for political, economic, humanitarian and military reach at Europe’s intersection with the Middle East.
Read the rest of my article in Politico Europe here.