According to Cyprus Mail, Cyprus strengthened ties with the West but has not resolved key disputes
Cyprus has strengthened security cooperation with Western partners over the past four years, but this has not yet ensured the settlement of the dispute over the exclusive economic zone, gas exports, or the sustainability of the cooperation format with Greece and Israel. This assessment was presented by Cyprus Mail in an article on the country’s foreign policy prospects.
The publication notes that the United States lifted its arms embargo on Cyprus, which had been in force since 1987, in 2022. The CYCLOPS training center, funded by the U.S. Department of State, strengthened the island’s role as a regional security partner. The Paphos air base and the Evangelos Florakis naval base were also modernized and used.
Role in humanitarian operations
According to Cyprus Mail, Operation Amalthea established Larnaca as a support point for a maritime corridor delivering aid to Gaza. The Estia plan, in turn, made the island an evacuation hub for Lebanon, Gaza, and Sudan. The publication believes that Cyprus’s geographical location became an important resource during regional crises, but its value as leverage may diminish after they end.
Format with Greece and Israel
The Greece–Cyprus–Israel format began as energy coordination following the discovery of the Leviathan and Aphrodite fields in the early 2010s. Since 2016, leaders’ summits have been held regularly within the format, and in 2019 it acquired a U.S. dimension through the 3+1 mechanism.
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As Cyprus Mail writes, this format has not been able to fully consolidate. The publication cites an assessment that Turkey did not seek to directly block cooperation, but aimed to keep it incomplete. The article mentions Turkey’s 2019 maritime memorandum with Libya, the Oruç Reis vessel’s geological exploration work in 2020, and drilling activity by the Yavuz and Fatih vessels. These actions are linked in the article to the Mavi Vatan doctrine.
Cyprus also held the presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026. In the publication’s view, the presidency has a temporary impact, but working contacts and experience on European matters may help Nicosia further promote regional positions within the EU.
Among Cyprus’s main tasks, Cyprus Mail names the commercial development of the Aphrodite gas field and neighboring deposits, securing security capabilities in EU mechanisms, and developing partnerships with Central Asian and African states.
