US Senator Bob Menendez has announced the introduction of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that will extend the time required to renew the lifting of the arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus.
Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) reports that after the complete lifting of the embargo and the fulfillment of all obligations on the part of Cyprus, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate explained that this is a logical step that will allow for a longer-term planning with the aim of better coordinating the cooperation between Washington and Nicosia in the field of security.
According to the existing legislation, the President assigned the US State Department to certify every year that Cyprus continues to fulfill all the conditions included in the East Med Act in order to renew the lifting of the embargo (annual waver).
If the amendment is adopted in the final text, this would mean that the decision to lift the embargo will be renewed every three years.
'I was proud to see my bipartisan Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act pass into law a few years ago, paving the way for the provision of defense articles vital to bolstering the defense of Cyprus,' said Chairman Menendez.
'As Cyprus has met the requirements to receive such defense articles, this amendment will allow for longer term planning, and ultimately improve security coordination between the United States and the Republic of Cyprus and hopefully other regional allies and partners in the future' he added.
Source: Cyprus News Agency