Why does the US want to lift sanctions on Cyprus?

A element in the conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean has emerged since US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Tuesday that  the 1987 arms embargo on Cyprus is being partially lifted 

Experts are divided over whether Washington's motives are linked to Ankara's moves to drill for gas in disputed waters.

The US decision was sharply criticized by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, giving Cyprus the green light to sell non-lethal weapons for a year.

Turkey has made it clear that unilateral action will be taken if Washington does not reconsider its decision.

Ankara says the US move could discourage Greek leaders from holding long-term talks on reunification with Turkish Cyprus.

According to Aaron Stein, Middle East program director at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the US decision is more about Russia than Turkey.

It is the thinking of the United States that is pushing it to push back Russia's influence on the island,  he told Arab News.

Under the East Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act 2019, Washington has strengthened ties with Greece and Cyprus and provided defense assistance to prevent the Russian military from refueling at the port of Limassol in Cyprus.

According to Stein, Turkey is very unpopular and has no support to stop such efforts by the US Congress.

So the people at the State Department who were pushing that line were successful.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Thursday that Greece and Turkey had agreed on a NATO-led technical dialogue to develop a strategy for resolving disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean and reduce the risk of accidents. What is it.

Macaron, a Middle East foreign policy analyst at the Arab Center, believes there are voices within the US administration that are increasing pressure on President Trump to pursue Turkish policy in the Eastern Mediterranean. Step back from

And that pressure will only increase as Turkey signs an agreement to buy a second batch of Russia's S400 anti-aircraft missile system.

According to reports, in late August, Ankara and Moscow signed an agreement to supply a second shipment of air defense systems to Turkey, making it the first NATO member to purchase the system from Russia.

Macaron said the pressure was also evident in the US condemnation of President Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with Hamas and the lifting of the partial embargo on Cyprus.

Both statements were issued by the State Department, not the White House, which means that Trump wanted to keep the line open with President Erdogan.

The United States is moving away from Turkey without taking France into account in the East Mediterranean tensions, because the decision is effective for a year and is limited to non-military equipment,  Macaron said.

Both Greece and Turkey are conducting extensive energy research in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, and since 1974 there has been a dispute between Turkey and Cyprus over gas reserves around the divided island.

Ozger Inlersky, director of the US-based German Martial Fund in Ankara, agrees that the US decision was to keep Cyprus out of Russia.

The timing of this decision could be related to the upcoming US election, as there are 350,000 Turks, compared to about 1.4 million Greek-Americans, he told Arab News.

However, he added that the move would not change the military balance on the island, but that the timing was not right. This could be seen as a confirmation of the current policy of Greek Cyprus and the end of talks on Turkish Cyprus regarding the exploitation of the island's resources.

Brussels, meanwhile, hopes a meeting of leaders later this month will discuss a list of possible sanctions against Turkey.