Nicosia is showing little concern about Donald Trump’s return to the White House, during a period when Cyprus-US relations have reached unprecedented heights.
The Cypriot government believes bilateral relations will remain unaffected by the change in the White House leadership.
This optimism is based on several key factors, including the Cypriot government’s maintained communication channels with Trump’s team. President Christodoulides revealed in a statement to CyBC that he met with a close Trump associate in Nicosia before his Washington trip and White House meeting with Biden.
During Trump’s first administration, Cyprus-US relations began to strengthen, marked by then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Nicosia, during which a Declaration of Intent was signed between the two countries.
The current robust state of Cyprus-US relations began taking shape during Trump’s term and strengthened further under Biden’s administration. Despite earlier analyses suggesting that changes in US administration might negatively impact relations with Cyprus, events proved otherwise.
President Christodoulides, congratulating President-elect Trump, expressed hope for continued strategic partnership between the two nations. In a post on X, he noted his anticipation for expanding and strengthening the strategic partnership between Cyprus and the US and advancing transatlantic relations.
Similarly, Athens remains hopeful about maintaining strong ties with Washington. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at the Foreign Ministry during the presentation of the Strategic Plan for the Greek Diaspora, expressed confidence that Greek-American relations would remain robust and productive.
Congratulating Trump, Mitsotakis emphasised that bilateral relations between Greece and the US are strategic in nature and “national rather than partisan”. He recalled the excellent cooperation during Trump’s first term and noted that his invitation to speak at Congress was “bipartisan”.
“Greece’s position, both as a NATO member and EU partner, is always principled”, Mitsotakis stated, whilst acknowledging that developments across the Atlantic influence international relations.
The matter will be discussed at the emergency summit in Budapest, where President Christodoulides is also attending the European Political Community Summit and informal European Council meeting.
The summit agenda includes discussions on European economic security and migration, with Christodoulides scheduled to address the latter. The meeting will also focus on EU-US relations, regional developments, and the situation in the Middle East.
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