President Nikos Christodoulides has welcomed Norway’s decision to open applications for the export of defence equipment to Cyprus, saying on Friday that the decision was “an important step towards enhancing bilateral defence cooperation”.
The decision was conveyed on Friday by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, during a telephone conversation with Christodoulides.
“I warmly welcome Norway’s decision, conveyed today by @EspenBarthEide, to open applications for the export of defence-related and dual-use products for military use to Cyprus. A significant step in strengthening our bilateral defence cooperation,” Christodoulides said in a post on X.
A government source said lifting the arms embargo against Cyprus, in place since 1959, was a development of political and diplomatic importance.
The embargo had been imposed as part of a general policy not to export armaments to countries at war, under the threat of war or with internal strife.
The development constituters “a recognition of the role of the Republic of Cyprus as a trustworthy partner and as a factor of stability in the eastern Mediterranean,” the sources said.
This, it added, was the result of diplomatic action and dialogue between Nicosia and Oslo, with the aim of restoring the equal treatment of Cyprus in the framework of European and transatlantic cooperation.
